What is Sensual/Erotic Poetry?
Sensual Poetry: poetry that refers to what is experienced through the senses in a favorable or literal way.
Erotic Poetry: poetry that deals with transcendence and can titillate, turn on, and engage the imagination of the reader.
This is an art form that is so deeply personal and extremely hard to do well. Not only are you creating sights, smells, feelings, etc. for your readers/audience, you are also doing so with finesse. I use sexual language in my sensual/erotic poetry but most of the time I challenge myself to use metaphors for sexual experiences. Sometimes, I don’t allow myself to use explicit sexual words at all. That, to me, is the poetry piece of sensual/erotic poetry. Anyone can write explicit sexual material, but not many can do so with tact and craft.
Now, let’s add another layer: Visuals. I love this part of sensual/erotic poetry because you have to be so connected to and comfortable in your body to create visuals for this type of poetry. As a sexual assault survivor, this is incredibly empowering for me! My body is mine. I show as much, or as little, of it as I want to illustrate my poetry. An example of this is when I created my mini series of sensual/erotic poetry Body in Bloom (pictured to the right) using fresh flowers. I was completely naked behind the flowers and I chose how much skin I wanted to show. It depended on the image I wanted to create and how much I wanted to activate the readers/audience’s imagination. Creativity is key!
Last layer I want to add: Performance. The tone and volume of your voice, pace of reading, emphasis on certain words, intentional pauses, etc. are HUGE to performing sensual/erotic poetry well. My goal is to always create a vibe. I envision sensual/erotic settings like candlelight dinners and strawberries & whipped cream to help me lean into a sexy delivery. If I’m performing with a mic, I might use my body to create imagery for my audience. Slide my hands across my curves, run my fingers through my hair, etc. It really is an exhilarating art form.
Lean into your sensual/erotic side this weekend ;)
*New poem on the Poems page*
