Oral stimulation
A review of the “Better Than Chocolate” erotic poetry reading at the Artist Union Gallery.
By Margaret Landreau 02/22/2007
With venues for readings opening up in Ventura, there are finally choices for poetry lovers. But the one event not to miss is the annual erotic poetry reading fundraiser at the Artist Union Gallery. On Feb. 10, “Better Than Chocolate” packed the room. An invitational, there was a range of poetry styles and the poets present to entertain ranged in age and gender.
Introducing the readers was Friday, who warmed up the audience with her style and wit and a request to set cell phones to “silent or pleasure mode.” Over 20 writers followed with their readings. Some were sweet, some humorous, some blatantly hot, some obscure in their meanings, some suggestive and some direct and shamelessly erotic; the readings raised the temperature inside the room noticeably before the intermission.
Some poets dressed the part, like Tim Sheehan, who donned an Elizabethan-style velvet jacket to read Sonnet 128 by the Bard. Sheehan also read a poem by Robert Herrick, a close contemporary of Shakespeare, who likened a woman’s breast and nipple to “a strawberry half drowned in cream.” These poems were surprising for the youngest members of the audience, who may have thought sex and eroticism were invented in this century.
Some works were more a celebration of love, rather than purely erotic. Like the line from the poem that Roe Estep read, “I could kiss 1,000 mouths and know your lips.” The variety of images conjured covered a wide range of topics. Lee Rossi mentioned “a couple of sticks of dynamite playing with matches.” Jackson Wheeler (who opened his reading by thanking all the people who have paid for sex over the years) finished his reading by saying, “This poet imagines you all naked.” Ellen Reich shared James Kleinman’s words: “Fucking is not a poetic word; when I fuck, poetry is the last thing on my mind.”
Florence Weinberger wondered how unseemly it is to put an 80-year-old man in a black leather gag (to keep him from snoring). Her ponderings were delightful and amusing. Glenna Luschei’s reading of Al Young’s poem “Like Butter” was all hot eroticism. Trish Falin observed, “Love is greedy, stealing kisses.”
A wide choice of wines and chocolate cake stimulated the crowd and food had its place in more than one poem. As Marcia De La O read, “Be careful, anyone who sets out food can tame you.” Shelly Savren read Kasha Piotreskowski’s food-related line, stating that the “perfect knife caresses tomatoes.”
The delivery styles ranged widely and Doris Vernon was a favorite. She prefaced her poem by telling her granddaughter in the audience to cover her ears and then admitted, in a conspiratorial voice, that “I don’t want it known, but we did the wild thing at home.” Rob Smith shared his poem “I Want You to Know” with lyrical, emphatic delivery and Tim Tipton read “Wild Nights,” by Emily Dickinson, with panting breath.
J.W. Paz, a writer who is currently touring the country, wrapped up this memorable evening. He challenged the audience with these lines: “Our life was supposed to be perfect … We’ve given up on perfection … This is morning and I’m drowning but I love you and I need to learn how to swim.”
As the quality of poetry in Ventura gets better and better, more talented and more well-known writers are being attracted to local venues. Finally, locals are reaping the rewards of being able to enjoy great poets right here at home.
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