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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2003)
bbiuary 21 . 2 fl 0 a BOOKS T Sexpert witness Happy Susie Bright Day! Have some pom. by B E rin S exton I uying an anthology of 5 pom or eroti ca is a lot like ¡8 buying a scratch-off lottery ticket. You might get lucky and break even and sometimes you hit it big, hut most of the time the best part is over when you’ve scratched the ticker or cracked the spine. For the past 10 years, though, many have awaited the annual release of The Best American Erotica, Susie Bright s handpicked collection of the finest dirty stories of the year. The renowned queer writer and sexpert comes to Powell’s on Susie “ Sexpert” Bright comes in, er, to Portland Feb. 24 Feh. 24 to promote the release of the brand new 2003 edition. ES: The 2003 edition has a good sampling Busy on tour, Ms. Bright swapped e-mails of all types of styles, fetishes, sexualities and gender expressions. Do you genuinely like with Just Out to talk about, what else, pom. most of the stories and subjects? Erin Sexton: Congratulations on having a SB : Yes, 1 fall in love with them. But maybe day named after you in your hometown of you mean, Can I jill off to every story in my Santa Cruz, Calif. How did this come about? book? No. Some stories 1 pick because they Susie Bright: Every year the arts editors make me laugh or cry. They get to me emo at our kx:al paper honor a number o f artists tionally, and I feel their genuine erotic pulse. There’s something universal they’re touching living in our area who they believe are upon. “making a difference,” so to speak. When the paper announced its awards and held a Then there’s the ones that have me fanning cerem ony...the mayor cam e and presented myself briskly.. .and they often come as a com me with this incredible declaration of “ my plete surprise. I never came in my pants to a day.” I had never met the man before or had | gay male fantasy in my life until I read Aaron Travis’ “The Hit.” ...That story is so insane, so a clue that he was so familiar with my work. His pronouncement of my day made me cry! hot, I defy anyone of any sexual preference to resist it. You’re screaming (it’s a crime thriller) and reaching for the vibrator at the same time. E S: Were there any special festivities for Susie Bright Day? E S: What do you see as the “ next fron SB : I had a party. I encouraged my fans on tier” in pom and erotica? my mailing list to have some sort of celebra tion, and I got the funniest reactions. Lots of S B : In both the first Gulf War and now, in Bush’s latest aggression, I’ve seen an upsurge in people had special orgasms for me. manuscripts by men where the story concerns a man who “gives up” his masculine assertiveness ES: Best Am erican Erotica is celebrating in some fashion. He gets fucked in the ass, he its 10th anniversary. What are people writing wears a pink baby-doll nightie, he gets sexually about that they didn’t write about 10 years overwhelmed and is “taken.” ago? S B : Much more far-reaching material The first time I saw this, I thought it was about gender identity and, you might say, just because a lot of people had been watching “gender disposal.” And more than that, videos like Bend Over Boyfriend, and it was just the effect of gay sex loosening straight men up. women don’t feel like they’re charged with writing “as women” for the feminist cause. But since now I see that this has only hap Women authors who want to speak in the pened in wartime situations, I have a new theory, which is that this is the side of men voice of a male protagonist will just go ahead that spills forth from the unconscious when and do it. the iihcrman is called upon to go forth and ES: Not only have you written an obscene invade, halls out. In erotica, the balls are des amount of erotica and pom, it seems you’ve perately pulling up j n read a lot of it. Can you speak to the quality as of late? SUSIE B r ig h t reads from The Best American Erotica 2003 7:30 pm Feb. 24 at Potvell's Books, SB : [There’sJ more than ever, and so the cream is still the top 10 percent, hut it’s a big 1005 W. Burnside St. ger p<x)l of cream! Tremendous variety in the point of view and voices I hear from; it’s like a When not selling advertising at Just Out, road trip across sexual America. E rin S exton reads a lot of pom. ju s t r m NOW OPEN 24 HRS Visit our Web site at www.justout.com •Write a Just Friends voice personals ad •View all the newest Just Friends voice personal ads •Send in classified ads •Send in letters to the editor •Send in transitions and notables •Order a subscription • E-mail Just Out staff •Locate our distribution points
