Nina Interviews Steve Almond, Part 2
Click here for Part 1 of Nina's interview with Steve Almond.
Nina and Steve's conversation turns to sex and writing...
Nina: Whose sexy writing do you admire?
Steve: There are a lot. Mary Gaitskill. Terrific stories. Alicia Erian. Alicia'�s writing is beautiful. Good sex scenes. You should be turned on when you are writing. You should be that "in it" with the characters. I always feel like there are so many books where...they are going to bed, and they cut away and they wake up in the morning. � I�'m always disappointed, like, here we go, this is where it� was going to get good.
Nina: What is the difference between--
Steve: I'll tell you the difference between erotica and pornography or sexy literature and pornography. Pornography is about exciting glands. It gives you a hard-on, whatever. And I think erotica definitely has that byproduct but it is also emotional. It's being sexual with somebody, being sexual with yourself, being sexual in your fantasy life. It's open to fear, embarrassment, and shame. You know, that total range of emotions, whereas pornography performs a mechanical service.
Nina: I like that answer.
Steve: Well, I thought about it a lot. I have to justify why I am doing this exactly.
Nina: Have you written a sex scene that has made you uncomfortable?
Steve: I haven't. I have been uncomfortable in sexual situations. Plenty. You know what, that's not true. There are moments when I think, "Can I write that?" Where I'm sanctioning myself as a pervert for thinking that. So, I definitely had moments where I got a little bit embarrassed. Part of it is personal shame but most of it is: "Am I now exploiting material?" and "Am I now just writing this just to elicit a reaction from the readers as opposed to really being with the characters in that angry, fucked-up, self-hating, shameful thought?"
Nina: What do you think of Boston? Everyone is very conservative here.
Steve: Yes, Boston is a little bit more [conservative] but you know what? People in Boston are horny all the time.
Nina: I think people in Boston hide it well.
Steve: It's the cold weather and it's also--
Nina: I find myself in conversations where I cannot express what I mean without people looking at me as some kind of perv, which I am!
Steve: Several years ago when I started much more pointedly writing about sex...I know what you are saying. There is an uptight vibe in Boston. I just put myself in a setting that is more relaxed. Well, I create them if possible.
Nina: What are you going to talk about in your upcoming sex writing seminar at Grub Street?
Steve: I'm talking about how not to fuck up sex writing. When people write about sex, they end up writing not about sex, or totally exploiting it, or not enough about the emotional experience and the intellectual part of sex. I mean, all this stuff is happening --your body, your mind. [The seminar] is going to be about trying to get people, when they are ready, to not be embarrassed writing about sex and not make all the usual mistakes like, "She grabbed his penis." You don't have to be graphic about it. You have to be much more subtle. You don't use "penis" and "vagina" if you can help it.
You can read excerpts, find book tour schedules, and purchase Steve's books at BBChow.com.
Got questions for Nina and Rita? Need sex advice? Send your questions anonymously using this form.
Nina and Steve's conversation turns to sex and writing...
Nina: Whose sexy writing do you admire?
Steve: There are a lot. Mary Gaitskill. Terrific stories. Alicia Erian. Alicia'�s writing is beautiful. Good sex scenes. You should be turned on when you are writing. You should be that "in it" with the characters. I always feel like there are so many books where...they are going to bed, and they cut away and they wake up in the morning. � I�'m always disappointed, like, here we go, this is where it� was going to get good.
Nina: What is the difference between--
Steve: I'll tell you the difference between erotica and pornography or sexy literature and pornography. Pornography is about exciting glands. It gives you a hard-on, whatever. And I think erotica definitely has that byproduct but it is also emotional. It's being sexual with somebody, being sexual with yourself, being sexual in your fantasy life. It's open to fear, embarrassment, and shame. You know, that total range of emotions, whereas pornography performs a mechanical service.
Nina: I like that answer.
Steve: Well, I thought about it a lot. I have to justify why I am doing this exactly.
Nina: Have you written a sex scene that has made you uncomfortable?
Steve: I haven't. I have been uncomfortable in sexual situations. Plenty. You know what, that's not true. There are moments when I think, "Can I write that?" Where I'm sanctioning myself as a pervert for thinking that. So, I definitely had moments where I got a little bit embarrassed. Part of it is personal shame but most of it is: "Am I now exploiting material?" and "Am I now just writing this just to elicit a reaction from the readers as opposed to really being with the characters in that angry, fucked-up, self-hating, shameful thought?"
Nina: What do you think of Boston? Everyone is very conservative here.
Steve: Yes, Boston is a little bit more [conservative] but you know what? People in Boston are horny all the time.
Nina: I think people in Boston hide it well.
Steve: It's the cold weather and it's also--
Nina: I find myself in conversations where I cannot express what I mean without people looking at me as some kind of perv, which I am!
Steve: Several years ago when I started much more pointedly writing about sex...I know what you are saying. There is an uptight vibe in Boston. I just put myself in a setting that is more relaxed. Well, I create them if possible.
Nina: What are you going to talk about in your upcoming sex writing seminar at Grub Street?
Steve: I'm talking about how not to fuck up sex writing. When people write about sex, they end up writing not about sex, or totally exploiting it, or not enough about the emotional experience and the intellectual part of sex. I mean, all this stuff is happening --your body, your mind. [The seminar] is going to be about trying to get people, when they are ready, to not be embarrassed writing about sex and not make all the usual mistakes like, "She grabbed his penis." You don't have to be graphic about it. You have to be much more subtle. You don't use "penis" and "vagina" if you can help it.
You can read excerpts, find book tour schedules, and purchase Steve's books at BBChow.com.
Got questions for Nina and Rita? Need sex advice? Send your questions anonymously using this form.
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