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Bio

Lloyd Howard received his PhD from the Johns Hopkins University in 1976, after which, the subsequent year, he was appointed to a tenure-track position at the ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ, where he taught until his retirement at the rank of Professor in 2016. Along with teaching in theDepartment over 39 years, he served as Chair of the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies for a total of 15 years, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Humanities for six-month terms in 1997 and 2000, and Director of the Medieval Studies Program for 3 years. His research focussed initially on the extant poetry of Guido Cavalcanti, before turning to Dante’s Commedia. His approach to interpreting this work follows an alternate, non-linear journey through Dante’s three realms of the afterlife. The signposts that mark the way consist of recurrent linguistic patterns, or formulas, by which the reader is guided through the space that comprises the poem’s 100cantos. Along with numerous articles, he has written two books adopting this method: Formulas of Repetition in Dante’s Commedia: Signposted Journeys across Textual Space (Montreal:McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2001); Virgil the Blind Guide: Marking the Way through the Divine Comedy (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2010). Scholarly recognition of his methodology includes the former book being chosen as an “Outstanding Title” for 2002 by the American Library Association, and one of its chapters being selected by Harold Bloom to form part of Bloom’s edition on the Commedia: Dante Alighieri, published in 2011. His articles in more recent years have been published by Letteratura Italiana Antica in Rome. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures.

Selected Publications

2010

Virgil the Blind Guide: Marking the Way through the Divine Comedy

2001

Formulas of Repetition in Dante’s Commedia: Signposted Journeys across Textual Space