CANCELLED: Petrarch and Pegging: Queer Desire in Medieval Italian Love Lyric

Although the love sonnet (as developed by Dante and the poets of the Dolce Stil Novo and perfected by Petrarch) has become inextricably associated with the expression of heterosexual desire, a closer examination reveals a range of transgressive desires beneath the surface. The gaze becomes penetrative, the lover undergoes bodily transfiguration, and the passive, silenced love object emerges as a powerful and frightening force of nature.

J. Ockenden studied French and Italian at Brasenose College, Oxford. In particular, they focused on medieval Italian poetry, winning the Junior Paget Toynbee prize for a set of essays on Dante. J is the current holder of the Oxford-Canada scholarship, and is studying for a Master's in Journalism at UBC in a (probably vain) attempt to reconnect with the here and now. Their interests include obscure Catholic saints, queer yearning and the journalistic possibilities of the dating app Tinder. In a more practical incarnation, they translate French and Italian fiction