What Is Bibliophile Érotique?

Let me, as starting point, configure erotic literature as one which aims at sexually arousing the reader, regardless of language use or political intentions. It might be composed of fictional or factual descriptions, and it might come in several different formats, from poems to sex manuals. Erotic fiction, on the other hand, openly flirts with language, narrative, and structure, and in itself is a genre which blurs boundaries between fictionality and factuality due to the intimate nature of its content and the possible fictionalization of personal narratives. In other words, erotic fiction may or may not have happened, but is dealt with in a fictional sphere even when embedded with (auto) biographical or memoir tones.

To critics who frequently go on the defense of the art of writing original erotic content, modern erotica holds many fine examples in human history: from Sappho’s poems to Boccaccio’s Decameron, leading up to contemporary writings, one can easily find a plethora of examples when reaching for arguments in a debate on the quality and justified existence of erotic literature. Sexual symbolism was used in European art already in the Middle Ages, with the visual connection between the rose and the vagina. Renascence and the invention of the press, however, stimulated the production of openly pornographic writing, with detailed descriptions of sexual acts and perversions from the 15th century onwards. In the 18th century the production of pornographic literature escalated as a result of a rise in the number of potential readers: no longer were pornographic books restricted to men, but now women – from tradeswomen to maids – were also reading them. Frequent references to the male apparatus as a “machine” mirrored the social-economic transformations that were taking place in the world, and political and religious dogmas were constantly attacked by this type of literature. Sade and Cleland flourished and were banned in the same velocity; a lot of it was being read notwithstanding its obscene content, but merely as informative literature. It wasn’t until the 20th Century, however, that pornographic literature was allowed to partake on an “acceptable” status and make its way into mainstream publishing despite – or due to? – its heavy sexual content. From then on, and with advances in terms of woman’s rights and the debates on (female) sexuality, along with psychoanalytical practices and theories, what was then considered pornographic literature gained the title of erotica.

However, when the subject changes back to pornographic literature, there is silence in the room. The eternal querelle between eroticism and pornography descends over texts as softly as muffled utterances. At what point do we draw the line between erotica and pornographic writing, but, most importantly, should we even worry about drawing a line? There seems to be a judgment in favor of erotica literature, as if lifting it higher than any pornographic writing because it – at a first glance – conceals its true intent more artistically. Alas, wouldn’t pornographic literature be truer, if this is the case? Who defines what is pornographic and what is erotic, in the end? If someone is more physically affected by a cruder language, does that make their sexuality less refined? What shapes our sexuality? What defines what and how we like things performed to us, by us – and who do we seek to fulfill fantasies and quench desires? And to those people who often populate our imagery in the formation of our sexuality – or in the forming of our concepts of eroticism, sex, beauty – have you ever wondered what turns THEM on? Would they search for more explicit content since they already work close to blatant sexuality, or would they rely on more veiled descriptions of sexual desires?

It is with these questions in mind that we embark on a new project called “Bibliophile Érotique – erotica from within”, which consists of a collection of erotica written exclusively by the best people who are, somehow, involved in the adult/sex industry, be it as a performer, director, photographer, writer, blogger, model, cam people, escorts… The idea is to publish erotica written not aiming at pleasing the audience, but the authors themselves. We want to provide the readers with the possibility of experiencing erotica through the eyes of those who often populate or help build the public’s own erotic imagination.

People invited to be part of this project had as job to grab a cup of coffee, sit quietly for some time, and produce a piece of erotica that appeals to their senses. The result you will see here at Darling House, in a new space created exclusively for this project. Very soon you will have access to your fantasies’ fantasies, through their own words. And your eyes.

Welcome to Bibliophile Érotique. We write sex as pros.