Between The Cracks

Poets have always been kinky. Who are we? How did we get here? Where are we going? If the poets do not tell us, then how will we know? S&M, piercing, drag, dildos: is any of this really new? Or are we only revisiting Pandora's bountiful box?

From the lascivious satire of Catullus to the obsessions of Michelangelo, the fetishes of Edna St. Vincent Millay to the faunal fantasies of DH Lawrence, the howling of Ginsberg and the beats to the sultry slammers of modern-day San Francisco, poet/photographer Gavin Geoffrey Dillard has collected the most exotic of the erotic of the poetic pantheon, lest any further clues be lost between the cracks.

A Daedalus Publishing title.

Gavin Dillard is the author of seven or so volumes of poetry, one lengthy memoir, In The Flesh, co-editor (with Ian Young) of Return of the Male Muse, song-writer, artist, photographer and faded porn star. His new project is "the great San Francisco musical", Bags. He raises cats and orchids on Maui. His dharma name is Sankara.

Between the Cracks is a learning experience of the light and dark sides of the erotic mind. The anthology combines verse from the straight and queer communities written by both men and women. This book is looking to offend. In Gavin's introduction he does not mince words getting this across. Compiled in its pages is an evocative ensemble of all things rarely touched-upon between the best of friends or even the closest of partners. The selections are often dark, though never deceitful: this book is filled with truths one normally would never speak of let alone publish. Captured within the pages are writings from as early as 560 BC to the present day. Names such as John Giorno, Pat Califia, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman and Deena Metzger bring life and light to this compilation. Included with these classics are Gavin's own works as well as many other talented writers, each adding to the wealth of emotion and need evident throughout the publication. The candid frankness of this book took me by surprise. I highly recommend the wildly erotic ride into human emotion and desire. There is something for everyone, whether we are willing to admit it or not. - Penny Gyokeres, SMUT Magazine

The Daedalus Anthology of Kinky Verse

edited by Gavin Dillard Poetry. 5½" by 8½". 354 pages.