Every day can be Valentine’s Day when you listen to sexual love poetry. In this cherished recording Wendy returns to KBOO Radio’s beloved Talking Earth Poetry Program for a lovely reading from her second highly-acclaimed anthology of sexual love poems, Intimate Kisses: The Poetry of Sexual Pleasure. This is a special episode to honor and celebrate Valentine’s Day.
The program begins with Barbara LaMorticella, host of Talking Earth, talking with Wendy about how she came to find poems, organize, and produce the collection. Wendy describes how the collection features poems from a diverse group of highly-esteemed contemporary and traditional poets, such as Nikki Giovanni, Marge Piercy, Rumi, Octavio Paz, and Galway Kinnell. They discuss the role of sexual fantasy and imagery in the poems and how the collection features many types of kisses from coffee-flavored kisses to moaning kisses to bones that kiss.
Abigail Albrecht Brandt and Patrick Mulrooney, two Oregon poets whose works are in the collection, join Wendy and Barbara in reading a diverse selection of poems that describe erotically hot and healthy sexual intimacy. This treasured reading is peppered with a sensitive discussion about sexual pleasure and the unique ability of poetry to capture the profound experience of love-making.
The reading explores five areas of sexual pleasure. These five areas correspond with the five chapters in the book:
- Anticipation and desire — looking forward to sexual connection
- Self-awareness and discovery — learning about ourselves and our partner
- Admiration and appreciation — deepening awareness of sensual pleasure
- Union and ecstasy — experiencing a profound intimate connection
- Afterglow and remembrance — reflecting back on the shared joy
Listen to the Intimate Kisses Poetry Reading below:
This program was originally broadcast on Portland, Oregon’s KBOO radio in 2001.
Learn about Wendy’s first anthology, Passionate Hearts: The Poetry of Sexual Love.
Listen to Wendy’s other interview and poetry reading, the Passionate Hearts Poetry Reading, here
