Remittance Girl has a call out for a new anthology of Erotica written from the male POV. Anyway I thought I’d take a look at a couple of the editors. I like what RG is doing over at the Press she started up. I know some of Raz’s things because he was going by Monocle, and does interesting short poetry for the list at ERWA. Here is Remittance Girl’s interview of the two of them…
You really couldn’t have two different writers going on here. The first guy is so misogynistic it’s almost ridiculous. He says:
A man doesn’t necessarily want to know how the slave girl feels when she’s being fucked. He wants writing that will evoke his pornographic imagination. What position is the slave girl in? What kinds of sounds does she make? What does she do when she orgasms? Does she scream? Cry? Pant? Shake? Stretch? Arch? Madly kiss the man fucking her? Men, I think, are much more visually oriented than women.
Then, there is Raz, the poet:
Erotica ‘for men’ makes the attempt to engage us beyond simple stimulation. These stories, perspectives, and situations help us understand and experience by proxy the flavors of male desire, appreciation, and conflict in and around sex. Men’s headspace is no less complex than women’s, and the negotiation between a man’s desire and actions are not always easy, or linear, and do not always have predictable results.
I have to admit that over the decade I’ve been reading men trying to write Erotica both at Cleansheets and ERWA there are very few who can strike any chords for me? I loved William Dean’s writing. Probably because full of metaphor. Poets can do metaphor. Blow by blow is so ridiculous, you know? Get your literary on.
Loved what Raz had to say above about “headspaces.” No, those are not much different. One other thing, so many male writers feel like they should live up to Kimera? He wasn’t that great.
Octavio Paz is great.
Use the word “slavegirl” and I want to gag. You will probably find that in the educated audience and they won’t buy the anthology. It’s some kind of weird fantasy trope for these guys that hide, like Kimera did. Once I saw a picture of him, many years ago at ERWA. Frankly I think it’s not a bad idea if the writers come out full frontal, especially on the male end, and at least in their faces?
Anybody that has to use the word “slavegirl” isn’t going to be very good looking is my guess, so come out! Non-good looking means not laid very much, no? Hence all that hiding behind slavegirl as trope.
xxoo!
Valentine
VALENTINE BONNAIRE - WRITER 
Hi Valentine. I’m the writer of the first quote. You left out the question that was being answered:
“What do you think distinguishes erotica written for men from erotica written for women?”
I described the kind of erotica, at the level of caricature, that a lot of men read and enjoy. I did not say that I endorsed it (or condemned for that matter).
Secondly, at one time I might have shared your opinion concerning the slave girl archetype. I have been more surprised (than you would be I’m guessing) at the degree to which this archetype appeals to women as well as men. If you’re going to conclude that someone who enjoys this fantasy is “misogynistic”, then you’re going to have to include many women (and more than you’d probably care to admit).
Octavio Paz, in my view, wrote some of the best erotic poetry ever written. Would you like me to write some like that?
I try to write a little of everything, including more metaphorical pieces.
LikeLike
I’m all for RG making a giant success with her antho. Paz is good for the literary reader. It’s all a matter of audience in the end.
LikeLike