The Kiss: Intimacies from Writers

by Brian Turner (Editor)

In this wide-ranging collection of essays, stories, graphic memoir, and cross-genre work, writers explore the deeply human act of kissing, and share their thoughts on a specific kiss—the unexpected and unforgettable, the sublime and the ambiguous, the devastating and the regenerative. Selections from beloved authors “tantalize with such grace that they linger sweetly in your mind for days” (New York Times Book Review), as they explore the messy and complicated intimacies that exist in our actual lives, as well as in the complicated landscape of the imagination.


This is a book meant to be read from cover to cover, just as much as it’s meant to be dipped into—with each kiss pulling us closer to the moments in our lives that matter most.

Genres: Short Stories, Nonfiction, Romance, Poetry, Essays, Literature, Love

256 pages, Paperback

Published February 12, 2019

About the author

Brian Turner is the author of a memoir, My Life as a Foreign Country, and five collections of poetry— Here, Bullet and Phantom Noise; with The Wild Delight of Wild Things, The Goodbye World Poem, and The Dead Peasant’s Handbook due out from Alice James Books in Fall, 2023. He’s the editor of The Kiss and co-editor of The Strangest of Theatres. A musician, he’s written and recorded albums with The Interplanetary Acoustic Team, including 11 11 (Me Smiling) and American Undertow with The Retro Legion. His poems and essays have been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, and Harper’s, among other fine journals, and he was featured in the documentary Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, nominated for an Academy Award. A Guggenheim Fellow, he’s received a USA Hillcrest Fellowship in Literature, the Amy Lowell Traveling Fellowship, the Poets’ Prize, and a Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation. He lives in Orlando with his dog, Dene, the world’s sweetest golden retriever.

Reviews

[Adam Dalva · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Big disclaimer, I have a piece inside this book) : I loved this Guernica series, and was pleased to submit to it, and found this book wonderful -it approaches the subject liberally, and introduced me to quite a few writers I admire.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more of a book to dip in and out of than to read cover to cover. A whole host of authors were asked to write a story about a kiss, and this was interpreted in such a wide range of ways that it almost lacks cohesion, all except for the presence of a kiss. But that might be inside trauma, a parent-child relationship, a betrayal, or a love story.

Thanks to the publisher for providing early access to the title through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Available 13 February 2018.

[Siobhan Fallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, ok, yes, I have a story inside, so obviously my objectivity should be viewed with skepticism. But I genuinely love this book! I hadn't read it in its entirely until it landed on my doorstep after publication and I was so delighted with the final result. There is a little bit of everything, nonfiction essays and conversations, touching memoir, short stories that border on poetry and mind-bending science fiction.
Sexy, funny, heart-breaking, this is an incredible anthology, and I am so honored to have my writing included in its pages.

[Kristin G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have carried this book with me all holiday season, taking in one precious kiss after another. It stayed on my bedside table while I wrapped presents badly, traveled to the hair salon and rested in my lap as the hair dye took hold, and kept me company in TJ Maxx when the lines were abysmally long and I didn't know what to get anyone for Christmas. This book full of kisses from middle school to the deathbed shot me up with the adrenaline of human souls trying so hard to communicate. There were so many kinds of kisses to discover here: kisses of pure love and definite lust, kisses of betrayal, New Year's kisses (one particularly dreadful one), and straight up confusing kisses. Kisses that shouldn't have happened. Kisses of chagrin. Bleak kisses. Hopeful kisses. In the end, this book is a meditation on all the kisses we want and some we just can't get. Kisses in distant memory and kisses wrapped in poetry (specifically "Psalm of Distribution," the only poem that has made me cry in a long time). Benjamin Busch, Siobhan Fallon, Ilyse Kusnetz, and Brian Castner create kisses and leave deep impressions. In the middle of the book is a "Harvest of Kisses" section brimming with the greatest literary kisses of all time, and the end of the volume holds author revelations about how they approach writing about human intimacy.

[Patrick Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through stories, essays, and poems, a huge variety of writers explore the simple and profound act of kissing. It's a wonderful anthology that explores all the different kisses we experience in life: passion, betrayal, tenderness, kindness, longing, loss. The first kisses, the kiss that didn't happen, the pecks on children's cheeks at bedtime, kissing the Blarney Stone -- we're reminded just how big this tiny act can be. With work from Mark Doty, Kim Addonizio, Patricia Smith, Ada Limon, Martin Espada, Andre Dubus III, Steve Martin, Junot Diaz, and many more, each page delights and surprises. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I didn't read it linearly, but jumped around from title to title. Surprising and refreshing, it's a wonderful collection.

[Stacey Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology is absolutely gorgeous. A bevy of excellent writers--poets, fiction writers, and essayists--all find unique ways to approach one of our most common shared physical experiences, rendering their memories, reveries, and intimacies in beautifully wrought prose. It's the kind of book you read a bit at a time, taking a necessary moment to savor and think on what you've just read, only to dive in again when ready. It's also one I'll return to again and again. Whenever this world feels too tough and too unsentimental to bear, these small kisses will remind me of the best of ourselves.

[Gladimore]

I only read Aimee Nexhukumatathil's story 'Notes on the Invisible Kiss' but it was wonderful! If you have never read her poetry, you should!

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid collection of essays, vignettes, poems, short stories, etc. capturing brief acts of searing intimacy found in/related to the act of kissing. Love (of various varieties), lust, violence, memory, compulsive, and grief are explored; though the love/lust kisses may skew toward the heteronormative, the diversity of the authors (e.g. literary genre, the inclusion of women writers, persons of color, etc.) is good. As with any anthology, some pieces are better than others; however, this maintained a pretty even keel in terms of a high quality of writing throughout.

I received this ARC from a Goodreads First Reads giveaway and have provided my unbiased review.

[Keely · Rating 5 out of 5]

No spoilers! Hunted this book down in a few places unsuccessfully until I finally got my hands on a cooy at Sacramento Public Library’s Arcade Branch. Yay! Many writers appear in this anthology whose work I enjoy but I only had time & interest in one short story therein: Christian Kiefer’s tale, “Skeery the Blue.”

The protagonist is a 12 or 14 year old girl, and Kiefer’s narrative reflects the emotional & psychological maturity if an intelligent, fierce young woman, easily drawing us into her world, filled with weighty personal and cultural challenges that anyone can relate to despite its semi-fantastic nature. Emotionally eloquent, colorful but uncluttered, the heart of this story is pure gold.

I already miss being in our heroine’s magical and meaningful universe- so satisfying and refreshing after so much sarcasm in our culture, and spoiled writers’ self-indulgent tragedies and apocalypses. I feel like Christian Kiefer reached into my heart, found the girl I was at that age, and made sense of her conflicts, hopes and dreams. He doesn’t shy away from the pains that beset innocent souls, but in this story, he has (finally?) made it useful. My only complaint is that it’s a short story instead if a novel- or even a series.

Given the series intensity of Dr. Kiefer’s other published works, obviously the fruits of an advanced mind, I doubt I’ll be lucky enough to spend more time with this girl, but if I get the chance to know her more & watch her grow up, I’ll be richly delighted.

It is well- worth going out of your way for this gem- I’m sure I’ll end up buying my own copy, probably on kindle unless I can find an audiobook version. It’s a unique and beautiful tale.

[Takia Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that found me at a specific moment in time. The night before I found it in a bookstore far from home, I’d spent the night at a lover’s house and stayed up until five a.m. We spent a good amount of time talking about kissing and different types of kisses, etc. The next day, BOOM ! The book winked at me from the self and I can say that I’m not disappointed. This is not really one of those books you read in one sitting. All the stories you read are beautifully independent and each makes you feel something different. I liked the different perceptions of intimacy and kissing and how all these different moments show how we connect with other human beings. Honestly I suck at reviews lately, but I still think you should read it !

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always hard for me to rate a collection of essays, short stories, poetry, etc. by different authors. Some of these were fives, some were probably twos - as it should be - not every author is for every person. That being said, overall, this collection was fairly musical and well-written, a series of intimate encounters - both real and fictional. And spanning not just the kiss between lovers, but kisses between family, parents and children, teammates, and even the kiss of a racquetball against skin. The ability of each of these writers to delve into these intimate moments was beautiful to read. Overall a solid collection of pieces.

[Pam Mooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. It was like a dreaming through the night going from one intimate perspective to another. I loved the collection includes so many different "kisses" as I was always anxious to see what would unfold in the next story. So many ideas that I would never have come up with on my own. Well done/edited to flow easily from each author to the next. I also liked that there were quotes included - an added bonus. A good read.

[Lilly Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a beautiful book, in that it brings together writers with one objective, The Kiss. Some were funny, others were heart breaking and then others were too logical for me. I am a romantic at heart and reading others interesting pov's were a break from the daily living. Anthologies are always a "conundrum" meaning some writers will take you on a flight of fancy, and others will drag you through the mud. Personally it is a good book, over all. But a three star for me, as a whole.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reminded me that I can't make myself connect to writing I dislike, even if the writer is well-respected or lauded. There were many short stories and nonfiction shorts in this collection that I enjoyed, but there were a few that were downright baffling and very much one-star reads on their own. It took me the entire month of February to get through a 204-page book. Anthologies can be tricky to read like that, I know, but I do disagree with some of the texts included in this one. Were I in Turner's place, I would have rejected a handful of them or at least provided feedback before inclusion. It felt like context was missing for many of them, like they weren't meant to be read as standalone stories. But if that was the case, why include them in an anthology as if they are whole and complete? Disappointing that I have to rate his as low as I do because it does feel unfair to the better writers here.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Goodreads win review. This book is about kissing all over the World. It was interesting.

[Marybeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a little different writing for me. I was lost a little, but managed to get through it!

[Deirdre Fagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible lineup of authors and deliberate range in approaches on the part of the editor. The assemblage is perfect. Too many favorites to count.

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit uneven, but an excellent sampling of writers that you may not have heard of. I've put several of their books on hold.

[Sarah Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tears were shed

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone else here said it better. A mix of writers and genres, and not all will appeal to an individual reader.

[Jazz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Again and again and again · Rating 5 out of 5]

So delightful. As with any compilation some were better than others and it took me a while to get into the book and feel captured by it but I truly feel like I lost an old friend finishing it. Ugh. So good

[Malvika · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's so much discovery about the human heart (and mind) in this anthology on kisses - from the first kiss a mother delivers to her child's forehead to a kiss given at someone's deathbed, this collection packs various types of intimacies that exist in the complicated relationships humans build with each other.

[Don]

Disclaimer: I got a copy through a Goodreads giveaway.
The Kiss: Intimacies from Writers
This book is a fun mix. The kisses written about range from first kisses for a newborn to last kisses as someone passes from life. There are playful kisses, sexy kisses, and even a sci-fi kiss. I really wondered where that one was heading off to! Most of the stories are short. After all, dozens of writer’s stories are included in the book. Some had more depth, both in length and meaning.
Near the end of the book, there is a question and answer session with some of the writers specifically about how they approach writing things that are intimate. That may be of special interest if you aspire to be an author.
A part I really liked was called A Small Harvest of Kisses. This was short passages from a score of famous works that cover quite a variety. Wow – I did not know the army clarified their standard of conduct in relation to public displays of affection.
You might find something that brings forth a memory. You might find something that makes you want to forge a memory.

[JL]

DNF at 58 pages