All We Know of Pleasure: Poetic Erotica by Women

by Enid Shomer (Editor)

Here is the good stuff: poetry written by women that actually excites the thinking reader. This anthology, spanning work of the last 75 years, will broaden its readers' notions of what defines erotic poetry. For what is more intriguing, more satisfying than strong, self-assured writing?


This groundbreaking anthology includes some of our most powerful women writers--among them Sharon Olds, Elizabeth Alexander, Anne Sexton, Dorianne Laux, Denise Levertov, Adrienne Rich, Lucille Clifton, and Louise Gl�ck. These poets fully demonstrate that, far from being prurient, the erotic can permeate even the most mundane aspects of life, from reading a book to buying clothes.


At the same time, the collection affirms the enormous meaningfulness of poetry--its ability to express the inexpressible and to illuminate the most private and intimate of human experiences. The poets included here represent different ethnicities, geographies, social classes, and sexual preferences. The only characteristic they share is that they are women writing about sex.

Genres: Poetry, Feminism, Anthologies, Romance, LGBT, Adult, Gay

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 2018

About the author

Enid Shomer is an award-winning American poet and fiction writer. She is author of six poetry collections and two short story collections largely set in, influenced by, and life in the State of Florida.

Reviews

[K. Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book, especially women. It is liberating and beautiful to read about our bodies without being objectified. To be regarded with radiance instead of as sex objects. 11/10
*****
I also have a book of sex poetry written by men (mostly)... this book is way better. Women writing about sex, intimacy, and their bodies - they just do it better! It's beautiful, erotic, funny, relatable... there's a poem for everyone. Poems about first times, poems about aging bodies, poems that use nature.

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

ugh oh my god!!! this collection was absolutely amazing. I feel like poetry collections like this can be a real hit or miss for me but this was was absolutely perfect. highly highly recommend. it's full of so many talented and classic female poets (I even recognized a few of my favorite poems and poets in there). all around incredible. I will absolutely be coming back to re-read this collection more than just a few times.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m obsessed with this book. It is a wonderful anthology and super diverse. I’m so glad I bought it in an impulse buy because of that cover. I think this is my favorite read of the year so far and I’ll be hunting down books by many of the women included in this collection.

[nilab · Rating 2 out of 5]

note to self: I am NOT a poetry person

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the front cover, Lidia Yuknavitch describes this collection as a "love letter to women's bodies" --which is what this book really felt like, as opposed to "poetic erotica." Not all of the poems fit the erotica genre, but once I adjusted my expectations to fit the "love letter" idea, the reading experience became much smoother overall. However, this also makes it harder to rate the book, because the quality of the poems is 4-stars, but the arrangement and title of the book don't quite match up with its contents, which makes me want to give it a ~3.

I've let the book sit with me awhile before reviewing it, and I think my feelings have mellowed out and become a lot more appreciative since then; but I will admit that while I was reading it, it did create some frustrations, especially towards the latter half. There were a number of poems which revolved more around interpreting personal relationships than body-love, and other poems which showed admiration for women's bodies, but with the bare-minimum. So even with the "love letter" theme I had in my head, I couldn't quite justify them being in the collection. Still, the second half did have some really strong poems, but I remember feeling that those stronger poems were carrying a lot of the weight, and were surrounded by weaker (almost "filler") poems that loosely fit the theme. This unfortunately created a slightly weird pacing problem for the second half of the book; it felt very tug-and-pull.

I still thoroughly enjoyed the collection and it contains some of my now all-time-favorite poems. I will most definitely be recommending it, but not without the disclaimer that not every poem is erotica.

[Karina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetic? yes. Erotic? yes. I love how this collection shows how different women's experiences, wants and preferences are when it comes to romance and sex. It was interesting. I also love many of the metaphors used, some poems were really clever and beautiful. My favorites from this collection are "Your Hands" and "Phenomenal Woman". But there were also poems that just didn't work for me and I even just found hilarious because of the word choices which, I think is just really a me thing. Overall, I still like this and would like to re-read some of the poems in the future.

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to thank Carolina Wren Press for my e-copy.

Maybe I just don't understand poetry or have a liking for erotica...I'm not sure because some poetry books I fly through and absolutely love them; same with some 'erotic' type books...maybe they are more love stories than erotica...I don't know. This collection really didn't move me one way or another. I did like the poem Fast Gas. I think it will speak to everyone of all ages.

[Kierra Dawn Carlisle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. There are so many amazing poems in this collection. I know I will be coming back to this in the future.

[Dee’s Cozy Corner Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this collection. It was great.

[Mikaylynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this because I wanted something new to read in the poetry genre, and this was not bad. I wanted to read something other than one line poetry, which is what I constantly see via social media.

Not to mention it’s also a popular trend with contemporary poetry books. This is definitely in the erotic genre which I didn’t expect until I read the cover.

But it gives multiple perspective on love, sex, intimacy etc. through the poetry medium, and is a rather short read. What I did like was the imagery painted with words. So it was an interesting collection of poems.

***********So warning it is on the sensual side.***********

If anyone has any other poetry recommendations feel free to send the to me.

[Laura Hundley · Rating 4 out of 5]

All We Know of Pleasure by Enid Shomer is a collection of erotic poetry written by women. I found some to be better than others and then a few I thought really did not belong in this book. I honestly am no familiar with erotica poetry but found it to be very enlightening. Each author brings her own special sexuality to the poems.

[Provocateurs of Esoterotica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful anthology of sensual and erotic poetry showcasing a variety of woman poet's styles and voices. Great to read alone, to others, or with a lover, and to find poets and poetry you may want to explore further. We also loved finding this at our local library! This one is a particular favorite of Esoterotica provocateur Aime' SansSavant.

[Kate Seader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let is be known: women can write as ridiculous similes about genitals as men can.

But seriously, this is a collection of erotic poems by a large number of female poets. There were some I really enjoyed, mostly the queer ones but a few others such as Afterwards by Dorianne Laux and When this old body by Grace Paley.

Many of the rest were too straight for my tastes…

[Joanna Goodrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.75

Overall I enjoyed this poetry collection. I think it's great that women's sexuality is being celebrated in this way but some poems were better than others. I really enjoyed "Your Hands" by Angelina Weld Grimke and "Desire" by Deidre Pope

[Marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read.

Who better to talk about the pleasure of than a woman? There is beauty in each pleasurable moment described in these poems. There are some recognizable names in here, others were new to me. But either way I was pleased by what they penned.

[Michelle Pulignani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave this book to my cousin who loved reading it.

[Debs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of these poems struck me still. I will be purchasing this collection.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, thoughtful, and vivid. A range of stories and focuses.

[Rob Dust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

more things should be erotic

[Mathilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When man
enters woman,
like the surf biting the shore,
again and again,
and the woman opens her mouth in pleasure and her teeth gleam
like the alphabet,
Logos appears milking a star,
and the man
inside of woman
ties a knot
so that they will
never again be separate
and the woman
climbs into a flower
and swallows its stem
and Logos appears
and unleashes their rivers.
This man,
this woman
with their double hunger, have tried to reach through the curtain of God
and briefly they have, though God
in His perversity
unties the knot."
- when man enters woman (Anne Sexton)

"And when she lifts her face he sees
where she’s gone, knows she can’t speak,
is traveling toward something essential,
toward the core of her need, so he simply watches, steadily, with an animal calm
as she arches and screams, watches the face that, if she could see it, she would never let him see."
- the lovers (Dorianne Laux)

"Our tongues are in each other’s mouths,
where they belong, home at last."
- the discovery of sex (Debra Spencer)

"One hot summer at midday
I lay down on the bed to rest,
One curtain in the bedroom shut,
But others partly open
To let in a soft broken light
Something like the light in woods,
Not twilight, really,
Not quite like the light before dawn,
But inbetween and shadowy,
Perfect for making love half-shy
When you want to see and be seen
Yet also half wish to be veiled, unknown."
- afternoon (Nina Rubinstein Alonso)

"Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me."
- phenomenal woman (Maya Angelou)

"There’s a guy ordering hot chocolate at the counter and when the barista asks him
if he wants whipped cream he says
yeah in this low, breathy voice that tells everyone he always wants whipped cream and don’t all of us, really? If I notice things like that too often or
too keenly now, is that a bad thing, or just slightly less appealing, like hot chocolate without whipped cream — still good, rich and mouthy, but not quite everything you wanted? Anyway I care less
and less about appropriate and more and more
about wanting, about moans and sighs and how the sound of a zipper can make you want to lie down
right where you are — on the sidewalk even, with
the cigarette butts and the cold seeping into your back,
if only someone would just kiss you
like they do in the movies. And I care
about beginnings, the lips finding that spot
on the neck, the too-much-clothing between skin
and skin; even more, perhaps, about middles’
secret stories, the slow but firm
touch, the nightingale vines curling from open mouths into the dark. And when the ending finally
comes, the song trilled out to its last fluid note,
do we call that failure?"
- to endings (Katherine Riegel)

"the wind beating in our hot blood
as we shriek our razor sharp joy."
- the animal kingdom (Marge Piercy)

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a multi-author poetry anthology, I felt like this was a mixed bag. There were a lot of phenomenal poems, and some of my favorite writers were featured within. On the other hand, there were poems that felt amateurish, contrived, or just plain didn’t do it for me. I almost think more sub-categories could have helped it feel more cohesive.

I would recommend it for folks who want more exposure to a wide range of (woman) poets.

[Clarissa Hoskison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A diverse and beautiful grouping of exciting poems, ranging from topics of emotional intimacy to physical intimacy to how the mundane daily nuances of life can also become intimate. Beautifully edited by Enid Shomer.

[mortician’s daughter · Rating 2 out of 5]

im so disappointed

[Khadija Mohideen · Rating 1 out of 5]

white girl straight poetry so vanilla so bland so boring stopped at 70% and i’ve officially finished this collection since all of them are the same anyway

[L.B. Tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stars of this collection for me were:
-KAI CHENG THOM, “autopsky” and “green boy”
-MARIE HOWE, “Practicing”
-TERRY WOLVERTON, “Black Slip”

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is one example:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poet...

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Wendy Videlock's poem 'What Humans Do':
"the tenderest lap
of waves on the shore,
and the gushing rushing

endless coming
of I've never felt
this way before."

[lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!! I went out of town for a couple weeks so I didn’t have a chance to finish this as quickly as I would’ve otherwise but I loved it very much