cover image SEX, DEATH & OTHER DISTRACTIONS

SEX, DEATH & OTHER DISTRACTIONS

Kensington Ladies' Erotica, . . Ten Speed, $21.95 (288pp) ISBN 978-1-58008-319-5

This third installment in the series of whimsical thoughts in prose (and a bit of poetry) by the all-female, San Francisco–based, self-styled "play" group is a seasoned, aged but still undimmed celebration of ardor, where the "f" word stands for "food," with sex as a side order. Sabina Sedgewick, the group's originator, and Rose Solomon, Claudia Morton, Bernadette Vaughan and others—all somewhere over 60 and proud of it—contemplate the importance of erotic fantasy versus the raw sexual act. Pat Adler's insistently fey illustrations of plump nude ladies running amok highlight the playful mood. While at times reading like a creative nonfiction enthusiast's chapbook, this collection also manages to impart incidental wisdom. Loud and clear is the fact that it's not men per se that turn these authors on, but a fun-filled life. Claudia Morton, in her "C Is for Contentment: A Recipe," observes that "ephemeral joys are the most treasured." Some pieces tend toward the portentous, barely carrying the load of adjectives and adverbs, with euphemisms such as "the Grim Reaper" liberally sprinkled in. Other pieces, however, are bouncy, taut and full of senior lady spunk: "Viagra Blues," by Rose Solomon, laments the loss of old-style erections. Overall, it's the verve and sheer down-to-earthness that adds zest to the pudding. The Kensington Ladies could well be the antidote to soulless hardcore sex stories: they prompt reflection on how joyous sensations of every kind still root us firmly in life. (June)