Description
The meaning of "erotic" varies greatly among the contributors to Erotic Haiku: Of Skin On Skin. To many, it conjures actual intercourse-foreplay, climax and an array of emotions afterwards. For others, it is linked only tangentially to the sexual act: watching a bee enter a flower, recalling a glance from another or the smell of someone's hair or skin smooth to the touch or a whisper in one's ear or the taste of something sweet on a lover's tongue. Finally, a few see the erotic in terms of humour through wordplay and unexpected juxtapositions. Such a broad spectrum of the erotic guarantees that all readers are sure to find something pleasing.
Haiku is a short form of poetry, capturing the essence of an experienced moment. The poems in this collection take a step further to focus on erotic moments in all their varieties. The earlier conception of a 5/7/5 structure has given way to a freer form; most haiku poets today agree that a haiku should consist of seventeen syllables (if there is no artificiality) or fewer. It is the moment, not the syllables, that matter.
About the authors
Terry Anne Carter's profile page
George Swede is a leading Canadian poet, whose poems have been published in over 150 periodicals and anthologies. He is the author of 36 books, and is the editor and co-author of The Universe is One Poem: Four Poets Talk Poetry.