An anonymous troll on the Asimov's bulletin boards challenged me to define erotica versus porn, as though this were some new and interesting kind of question.

Anyway, since it's been done to death (along the lies of evolution versus creation, and Coke versus Pepsi), I thought I'd take a different run at it.

And yes, it's also what I really think.


***

With apologies to Leonard Cohen: "Erotica"


Now you ask me to define the forms
Of written perv; describe the norms
But you don't really like any of it, do you?
They go like this:
Penthouse is dirt
Soft porn's in Flirt
The artists are composing erotica.
Erotica
Erotica
Erotica
Erotica

Erotica's artistic search for truth
A nude who's bathing on the roof;
But porn is when you grab her and you do her.
If she ties you
To a kitchen chair
Whips you hard--it's porn--you screw
But if it has some heavy meaning it's erotica.

Erotica, Erotica
Erotica, Erotica

You say I define these terms in vain
I'll go to hell all the same
And if you want to know the truth, I'm right there with you.
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The smut, porn, dirt or erotica.

Erotica, Erotica
Erotica, Erotica

I do my best to write the meat:
I don't like labels, hate "elite"
I'm an artist but I didn't come to fool you
It's really all
about the fuck
I love it, write it, but am stuck
With selling what they're calling erotica.

Erotica, erotica
Erotica, erotica
Erotica, erotica
Erotica, erotica
Erotica, erotica
Erotica, erotica
Erotica, erotica
Erotica, erotica
Erotica


**
- posted by Kate @ 10:32 AM