Erotic (sexual?) poetry

[Senna Jawa]

I don' even know if there is such a thing as sexual poetry. Is there a dog's anatomy poetry?

Till now, I have never addressed the issue of erotic (sexual) poetry. I was taking the erotic poetry for granted, as no different from any other poetry. It has just occurred to me to state my view on this board:

Take erotism for granted, don't treat it in any sensational revolutionary way, remember that it is with us since our first days as humans.​

There is no sensation. You can't impress anybody but dummies. They had written erotic poems in the ancient Rome which can make most of the Christians blush, and most of the Muslims go crazy. Just make a poetic equality between the events like: the wind was finding its way into a secluded backyard, and a member finding its way into an un-experienced backside. Poetically they are about equivalent.

 

[bronzeage]

We see a lot of sexual poetry in the new poems forum. They tend to come from young authors who are discovering all kinds of new sensations and want to share. Their poems do not get much notice.

Perhaps as we mature, the erotic element of sexuality is needed to hold our attention.

 

[Angeline]

I find most erotic poems to be not terribly interesting. Sometimes they are good poems in addition to being about sex, but usually (at least here) they are far too graphic for my tastes. I don't like writing about sex that is too graphic because it messes with my imagination, which can usually come up with much more exciting ideas and images than the words I read. And it's not that I don't like erotica, far from it. I think Marguerite Duras' erotic novella, The Lover, for example, is beautifully written and quite erotic. I just rarely see a poem that combines those qualities.

The best erotic poems for me are pretty metaphorical. I prefer to add my own interpretation.

PS Senna your comment about ancient Rome reminded me that when I was in college my roommate, who was majoring in classics, was translating Catullus from Latin. She'd read some of it to me and our jaws would drop (I did not really have any exposure to porn back then so it was astonishing to me).

PSS Wicked Eve wrote some wonderful erotic poetry here.