The Best American Erotic Poems

  Richard Wilbur: “A Late Aubade” from Collected Poems 1932–2004. Copyright (c) 2004 by Richard Wilbur. Reprinted with the permission of Harcourt, Inc.

  C. K. Williams: “Ethics” from Collected Poems. Copyright (c) 2007 by C. K. Williams. Reprinted with the permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.

  Lisa Williams: “On Not Using the Word ‘Cunt’ in a Poem” from Woman Reading to the Sea. Copyright (c) 2008 by Lisa Williams. Reprinted with the permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

  Tennessee Williams: “Life Story” from In the Winter of Cities. Copyright (c) 1956, 1974 by Tennessee Williams. Reprinted with the permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

  William Carlos Williams: “Young Sycamore” from Collected Poems: 1909–1939, Volume I. Copyright 1938 by New Directions Publishing Corporation. Reprinted with the permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

  Catherine Wing: “Eye-Fucked” from Enter Invisible. Copyright (c) 2005 by Catherine Wing. Reprinted with the permission of Sarabande Books, Inc., www.sarabandebooks.org.

  Cecilia Woloch: “Bareback Pantoum” from Late. Copyright (c) 2003 by Cecilia Woloch. Reprinted with the permission of BOA Editions, Ltd., www.boaeditions.org.

  C. Dale Young: “Maelstrom” from The Second Person. Copyright (c) 2007 by C. Dale Young. Reprinted with the permission of Four Way Books, www.fourwaybooks.com.

  Dean Young: “Platypus” appeared in Octopus. Copyright (c) 2006 by Dean Young. Reprinted with the permission of the poet.

  Kevin Young: “Étude” from Jelly Roll: A Blues. Copyright (c) 2003 by Kevin Young. Reprinted with the permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

  A NOTE ON THE TYPE

  Stempel Garamond, the typeface used in this book, was created by the Stempel Typefoundry in 1924 for the Linotype Corporation. Stempel Garamond is based upon the type designs of Claude Garamond (1480–1561), the famous French type designer. Stempel Garamond is an old style typeface with a heavy weight, making it highly readable.

  1. Britt Peterson, “Porn with a Silver Spoon” ( The New Republic, June 4, 2007), p. 64.

  2. Eve Fairbanks, “The Porn Identity” ( The New Republic, February 6, 2006), p. 34.

  3. Matthew Flam, “More Heat Between the Covers” ( Crain’s New York Business, February 20, 2006), p. 37.

  4. Caitlin Flanagan, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Monica” ( The Atlantic Monthly, January/February 2006), p. 167.

  5. Christopher Hitchens, “As American as Apple Pie” ( Vanity Fair, July 2006), p. 54.