By: Immani Love
A 37-year-old, black, lesbian walks into an open mic night…this isn’t the set up for a punchline to some great joke, it’s how I started my surprising career in Erotic Poetry. You may ask, “Who chooses Erotic Poetry as a career?” The answer is simple, NO ONE. (Or so I thought.) I often say Eroticism chose me because for as long as I can remember I have been enthralled with the idea of sex and sexuality. From being an inquisitive pre-teen sneaking to watch Cinemax after Dark, to finding pride in writing erotic short stories for my high school friends, to the day I finally walked onto a stage and spoke my truth…
“Hi my name is Immani Love, and I’m addicted to Pussy!”
How does a Black woman become an erotic poet? Is there a demand for this type of entertainment? Who is my audience? Will people like what I have to say? Will they pay for it? These questions and more plagued my mind and just when I thought I was on the wrong path, an HBO Real SEX episode aired featuring the Punany Poets. It was like a sign from the universe! They were incredible! They were sexy, erotic, sensual, intellectual, and above all, they were speaking my language, SEX, specifically, SAFE Sex. They were not only unapologetically Black and beautiful they were talented wordsmiths and it was refreshing and gave me so much inspiration I had to learn more. I researched their founder, Jessica Holter, I bought her books and actually even interviewed her for an LGBT radio show I sometimes co-hosted. She was who I aspired to be like but in my own unique way. She had found her niche and made it mainstream so that it appealed to the masses. I wanted to “Spread the Love” but not just here in the States, I aimed to go worldwide.
In 2011, I quit my job, started my LLC, copywrote and self-published my 1st book, recorded and produced my CD of Erotic Poetry and sold it on iTunes. I was performing regularly at open mics and booking paid gigs as a “Feature.” I was making a name for myself. I was doing something I loved and getting paid for it. I’m not saying it was all sunshine and roses but with the support of my life partner, I made the conscious decision to make a career of my passion. I made connections domestically and internationally and tried to make sense of the positive moments while trying to learn from the negative ones. I began to see myself as an artist and performer just like those Punany Poets and later on actually performed alongside several members of the group. Over the last 10 years I’ve traveled to 9 countries on 3 continents including the UK, Europe, and Australia sharing my craft. I’ve been featured on radio shows, in magazine articles, on television shows as well as the BBC news. I’ve done book tours, performed and/or marched in 32 Pride festivals, 3 EuroPrides, and 1 World Pride. I’ve published 2 books, produced a CD, been named Erotic Poet of the Year, and presented several seminars and workshops on intimacy and eroticism. I don’t tell you this to brag, I speak on them to say it can be done.
Poetry isn’t an industry that’s huge by general standards but that is changing. Spoken word performances have only become mainstream in recent years but TV and radio shows now spotlight them. Erotic poetry is slowly becoming more accepted in the poetry community as well as by the average audience with movies like 50 Shades of Gray, the worldwide movement to make being open about sexuality has helped artists like myself speak more freely. We are being welcomed into homes through platforms like Audible, Spotify, and Kindle. Podcasts featuring poetry or open conversations about sex are in abundance, open mic venues are adding “erotic nights” to their theme rotations, and even colleges are adding course content to explore sexuality and the history of sex. This is a beautiful time to be an artist and an even better time to be an erotic poet. The world needs love, the world needs intimacy, it needs art, and most of all it needs really good sex! The world needs an outlet for all its sexual frustration and we, your humble erotic poets, are here to provide the gateway to your desires, one hot, sexy, steamy poem at a time.
