Rachel Kramer Bussel has written a sex column for the Village Voice, edited a number of anthologies including the Best Sex Writing series, Spanked: Red Cheeked Erotica, He’s On Top, She’s On Top and Dirty Girls and has had her own writing published in Best Lesbian Erotica and Best Women’s Erotica, amongst others. Rachel is also the host and curator of monthly erotic reading series In The Flesh, held at New York’s Happy Ending Lounge. In The Flesh has hosted diverse readings from novelists, comedians, columnists, sex educators and performers such as Susie Bright, /A>, Cherry Bomb, Jonathan Ames and Stephen Elliott.
Held on the third Thursday of each month, readings usually keep to the particular theme of the nights, which in the past have included ‘true sex confessions’, ‘erotic memoirs’, ‘GLBT erotica night’, ‘comedy sex night’ and ‘revenge of the sex columnists’, but on any night you can expect “erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered…from erotic poetry to down and dirty smut.”
In The Flesh expanded last year to include the West Coast on the second Wednesday of every month at Hustler Hollywood, Sunset Blvd. The May 13th event’s subject is Feminist Sex featuring a line up of authors and performers who “present a modern view of Feminist Sex that proves sexiness and feminism can go hand-in hand and is empowering to men and women alike”.
The next New York event takes place on May 21st and promises a “mix of steamy erotica, kept women, an orgasm quest, the mile high club, real-life sex adventures and an intriguing look at Superman’s fetish art” with readings from, among others, Anna David, Mara Altman and Jeremy Edwards as well as sex toy giveaways and complimentary candy and cupcakes.
