Reading As Act of Queer Love: The Role of Intimacy in the "Readerly" Contract‪.‬

Abstract The following paper has been revised from my 2001 MA thesis, which asked 'Is it possible to define a strategy for reading queer?' This includes an investigation of how the traditionally stable categories of reader/text/author may be redefined by queer strategies that instead force instability and flux. In the three years that have elapsed since first conceiving of this piece, I argue that the potential of queer reading is still one that has not been adequately explored. As I acknowledge, 'whilst the queer does flag the fluctuating nature of sexual identity ... it may also be used to unpack broader patterns of knowledge' including those that give structure and meaning to our readerly imaginations.