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| Image copyright 2011 Beverly Brown |
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Jess: Have you written erotic-themed material? Why or why not?
Larry: I've written two erotic/experimental books(both related), called "The Pink Machine" and "Magenta." I wrote them because life chose to rip something out of me; and, because I'm a writer, it came out in written form.
Jess: Ah, that good ole "rip" feeling. How do you differentiate quality erotica (as an art form), from pornographic writing?
Larry: To an artist, I think the distinction would be as plain as the difference between lovemaking and rape. Artistic erotica is a portal into a universe of agony, ecstasy, transmutation and connectivity, while mere pornography, in comparison, is more like a dirty film of sticky dust on the skin of what we find beneath the surface of psychology and sex/sensuality.
Jess: Excellent -- I couldn't have said it better myself ;)! I shall now ask how you would respond to the following statement:
“I am very put off by the notion of 'literate smut', as if any porn is intellectual, that erotica needs to have a high and low art distinction. I think this is just a pretentious way for people to excuse their taste for pornography.”
-- originally posted on http://www.barbelith.com/topic/925
Larry: First, I would question the creative depth perception of a mind this narrowly composed. You almost have to be qualified to comment meaningfully on erotic art; because, if you're not, no amount of intellectual power you may otherwise possess will enable you to see through or past the sticky film (let alone the skin) I mentioned above that forms the border between these ideas. An outsider would assume we're just splitting creative/literary hairs, with no true sense of the world they stood on the intangible cusp of.
Jess: What inspired you to write erotic stories/poems/etc.?
Larry: An extreme intersection of loss and desire. A beautiful and faithless muse. A heart that roamed and returned. The truth that, for all its brutal dispassion, has only one face.
Jess: Do you always follow the "safe, sane, consensual" credo?
Larry: If I ever did follow any such path, I did so unintentionally.
Jess: What do you think readers will find most notable about your book(s)?
Larry: The recurring sense that no deep is too deep, and the almost neurological texture of the narrative, as if it were composed from a language pattern more consistent with thought than with speech.
Jess: In order to write on certain experiences, you would have to either research or live the life. Which describes you as the writer?
Larry: My writing has always been rooted in an organic combination of both the lived and the learned (there being only a subtle distinction between the two in my opinion).
Jess: I have a natural tendency to blend fact and the imagination too. Do you think erotica caters to a male or female market (or does gender of the target audience not matter)?
Larry: From one work to the next, the attraction or weight regarding gender will either vary or be irrelevant. In the case of my writing, my "target" audience is likely more female. Both books I mentioned are narrated by and from a female perspective (though I'm a boy).
Jess: Are there any topics you will NOT tackle, with regards to sexual behaviors and attitudes?
Larry: To my knowledge, there are no sexual "lines" I didn't cross in writing these books, to the extent that I know I've alienated large bodies of potential interest in them. But I'm an artist and a person first and a seeker of publication second.
Jess: It helps to make that clear distinction from the onset (depending on a writer's goals). Please share with us a short excerpt and blurb of your work (10-100 words).
Larry:
From The Pink Machine (Alicia speaking):
In the next painting, I'm wearing white leotards and bunched up grey legwarmers. Hair's pulled back in a ponytail. I'm posted up next to a mirror paneled wall on one foot with my other leg held up alongside my upper body so my thighs form a level line that goes from ankle to ankle(basically, the splits). The room's a small dance studio with a wood handrail running the length of the wall. My right hand's on the rail balancing me. The other is up at the base of my calf. I'm facing my reflection. I'm 37. It's a year before The End. I look at the painting the way I think you would. (I know you. I told you so on the phone today: 9-3-'05.) You see a woman breathing. A woman who can swim. A girl who lived over ten thousand days before you came along(half of those days while you were...where you've always been). You usually see all the soft, fuzzy things before you see the...Other Things. Soft cookie filled with salty pink cream. You see that I'm by myself. That I've been thinking; and you know I waste no time alone. The me in the painting is listening to The Beatles(guess what song). Outside of the moment of the painting, you see how my right hand slid from my calf down my leg. Toffee chip finger tips(or small, dead flowers) that signed their names. Came to the place between my legs. A little pile of snow that fits in my hand. One long toffee chip pushes warm wet snow between the lips. For a while, I(we) lose track of the original pretense of self admiration and I'm just fucking my finger through my leotards. I did take a few long moments to look at my Girl before I stuffed the gag in her mouth. She looked like the bottom of a white boat floating in a world where the water's made of air and the air's made of milk.
Jess: Share an excerpt of your favorite author’s work (10-100 words):
Larry:
Nothing's within reach right now, but here's a short list of my favorite authors: Chuck Palahniuk, Cormack McCarthy, Nick Toches, John Fowles, and Ursula K Le Guin.
Jess: Please let readers know where they can find out more about you/your work.
Larry:
I can be found at larry.frisby on Facebook.
Jess: Thanks so much for sharing your perspectives on the art of erotic writing :) Best wishes with both life and literature too!
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LARRY FRISBY (in his own words):
I just turned 40. I have a very unusual story that I've always found it difficult to summarize. A detailed portrait of my life can be found in my Facebook image files. Here are the bare bones though: I'm a personal fitness trainer, have a 15 year old daughter, have been writing for 20 years, I've never sought publication of any of the seven books I've written(until this year). I write fiction fused/saturated with biography, I write philosophy, poetry and anything else that comes to me. I have no diploma or GED but have always taken both my daughter's and my own mind very seriously; I've taught her everything from existential psychology to Egyptian history and Hindu mythology.
JESS C SCOTT:
Jess is the author/artist/non-conformist behind jessINK (her indie publishing division). One of her specializations is erotic literature.
If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and would like to share your views via a similar interview, just check out/fill out the form at Author Interviews. Jess will email you with the link once it is posted.
Jess is available for interviews too. Drop her a note at missfeyATgmailDOTcom :)
