Our topic for the month was Eroticism, and the poems chosen ranged from the subtle to the almost obscene, and many provoked strenuous debate. Polarised views of the poetry on offer opened up 'fault-lines' defined probably by generational differences, but the range of poems revealed how important the expression of human sexuality has been in every age - from the Old Testament to the present day. The mode of expression mirrors the age and culture in which the poems are produced, as we would expect, but the representation of delight, anxiety, and revulsion, gave us plenty to consider.
Among the poems read were and extract from The Song of Songs, John Donne's 'Unruly Sun', Yeats's 'Leda and the Swan', John Updike's 'No More Access to her Underpants', Herrick's 'Upon Julia's Clothes', an extract from Milton's Paradise Lost, D.H. Lawrence's, 'Figs', Donald Hall's 'Villanelle', Kim Addonizio's 'For Desire'.
Next month is a free choice of favourite poems again.
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