Tuesday, April 12, 2016

The Tournament of Literary Sex Writing: And the Winner Is…

James Baldwin vs. Jeanette Winterson: Our Esteemed Judges Declare a Victor!

April 8, 2016  By Literary Hub

After a grueling week of euphemizing, trash-talking, biologizing, and sexytime literary word-making, The Tournament of Literary Sex Writing is ready to declare a winner. But first, a recap.

Round one (aka The Sexy Sixteen) saw tight match-ups between the likes of Kate Chopin and Gustave Flaubert (Roxane Gay declared Chopin the winner, saying: She is a bit circuitous in this scene but she does acknowledge the physical reality of what is happening, LIKE A LADY!), Jean Genet and Henry Miller (Candace Bushnell chose Genet noting that his pet names for the penis are priceless.), and Kathy Acker vs. Dennis Cooper (Naomi Jackson went with Acker, praising the blend of blasphemy, intimacy, and a dash of childhood trauma.)

With the help of our other wonderful judges—Garth Greenwell, Eileen Myles, Molly Crabapple, Alexander Chee, and Sarah Nicole Prickett—the second round (aka The Erotic Eight) took shape. Though competitive, the early tournament favorites rose to the top, yielding a Final Four of *ucking that many might have predicted:

Philip Roth vs. Jeanette Winterson · D.H. Lawrence vs. James Baldwin 

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