erotic

by Alexis Rhone Fancher

Poetry. California Interest. Alexis Rhone Fancher tears the plain brown wrapper off erotica. She refuses to play safe, strips away pretense, intent on exposing the fragility, angst and longing lurking just below the sexual surface. EROTIC features poems and flash never before seen in any collection, as well as gems from Rhone Fancher's first two erotic offerings, How I Lost My Virginity to Michael Cohen & other heart stab poems (2014) and Enter Here (2017). It includes the infamous Sister Poems, all together for the first time. With her take no prisoners attitude, Rhone Fancher spares no one, least of all herself. As she's quoted in The Fem: I write about women like me, women who own their sexuality and take responsibility for their choices. It may seem I'm writing about sex, but really, I'm writing about power. Who has it. How to get it. How to wield it. How to keep it. Come along with the author as she careens through her checkered past. Enjoy her misadventures. Cop a feel. Have a laugh. But reader beware: Alexis Rhone Fancher's wry confessional may do more than lubricate your libido. It just might steal your heart.

144 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2021

About the author

Alexis Rhone Fancher’s poem, “when I turned fourteen, my mother’s sister took me to lunch and said:” was chosen by Edward Hirsch for inclusion in The Best American Poetry of 2016. Her poetry has been published in over thirty anthologies and chapbooks, both in the U.S. and abroad, and her photographs have been published worldwide.

Alexis is poetry editor of Cultural Weekly, where she also publishes "The Poet’s Eye," a monthly photo essay about Los Angeles. Since 2013, Alexis has been nominated for eleven Pushcart Prizes, one Best Short Fiction award, and four Best of the Net awards. She and her husband live and collaborate in a loft/studio space in downtown Los Angeles. They have a spectacular view.

Reviews

[Dave Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that use the erotic to tell the story of a life, what it means to have a body, and what our bodies do to our spirits. It's all free-verse but she works in so many different forms, especially the prose poem, which are often as vivid as novels compressed down to diamonds. There are a lot of themes, and lot of lovers, and the emotional range is wide, sometimes tragic, occasionally hilarious, and always captivating. Alexis Rhone Fancher is beautiful mix of Bukowski, Jean Rhys, and her own magnetic light that shines over everything, no matter how ugly or beautiful. This one is highly recommended for those looking for truth in world of poetry that is usually rated PG. Give your students a trigger warning and a box of tissue and they'll love this book.