Best American Erotica 2007
Perhaps the ideal work of any “best of” anthology is twofold. On one hand, it can point neophyte readers in new and important directions, acting as a map to a new literary world. On the other, it can serve as a gallery of all the finest works a genre has to offer. In her collection for 2007, Susie Bright, the grand dame of American literary erotica, has attempted to fulfill both functions, and may have minimized the impact of her anthology in the process.
Don’t get me wrong; there are some absolutely fine pieces to be found here, and together they make the collection a fine buy. Vanessa Baggott’s delightfully blasphemous revision of the Christian genesis myth, Dennis Cooper’s thoroughly postmodern formal experiment, Peggy Munson’s gender-bending and fiercely poetic meditation on Freud and Laureleigh Farrell’s darkly intense fetish-fantasy cover the price of admission alone–and ensure that the “literary” half of the “literary erotica” equation is not forgotten. But with the exception of Cooper’s piece, these are all short stories–and there is another side to Bright’s anthology.
Nearly one-quarter of the book is composed of excerpts from erotic novels, and it is in these selections that the anthology disappoints. While each excerpt points new readers to authors who certainly deserve the fond attentions of erotica aficionados, the excisions themselves fail to encapsulate the condensed energy that makes the short story such a vital and important form, making them some of the weakest examples to be found in the book. I understand that these excerpts may have been the only means by which these fine authors (Cooper, Octavia Butler and Kathryn Harrison among them) could be included, but it is my feeling that these writers—and their works—might have been better served by mention in Bright’s preface to the collection.
On the other hand, I was pleased to note that another quarter of the selections are culled from various internet sites, reflecting the increasing importance of this literary source.
Overall, I’d say that the anthology lives up to its back-cover claim to satisfy “every sexual appetite,” but that those seeking gay or lesbian erotica should look to the “best of” collections tailored to suit those orientations rather than this largely hetero buffet. Also, to those more sensitive readers: don’t let Bright’s stress on what she calls the “Lolita gap”–i.e., a significant age difference between lovers–in these stories deter you from picking up a copy! Only a few of the selections really cross boundaries in this direction, and these, of course, are easily skipped. Plus, they’ll give you something to complain about in your blog.
