The Erotics of Friendship
Date: Friday, February 23, 2024
Time: 7–8pm
Location: The Wolfsonian–FIU @ 1001 Washington Avenue
The romantically charged lifelong friendship between two key figures of the Harlem Renaissance—writer, patron, and photographer Carl Van Vechten, and translator, actress, and teacher Dorothy Randolph Peterson—will be at the center of this talk by Queer Literary Studies scholar Dr. Octavio R. González. Examining Van Vechten and Peterson's respective roles in one of their most important collaborations, the creation of the James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection at Yale University, González will delve into the erotic nature of the friendship, evident in increasing intimacy and a decades-long correspondence. Don't miss this chance to take a deeper look into subjects raised in our exhibition, Silhouettes: Image and Word in the Harlem Renaissance.
Co-sponsored by FIU's College of Arts, Sciences & Education (CASE), Department of English, Centers for Student Engagement, Pride Center, and Center for Women's and Gender Studies.
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