The meaning of "erotic" varies greatly among the contributors to Erotic Haiku: Of Skin On Skin. To many, it conjures actual intercourse-foreplay, climax and an array of emotions afterwards. For others, it is linked only tangentially to the sexual act: watching a bee enter a flower, recalling a glance from another or the smell of someone's hair or skin smooth to the touch or a whisper in one's ear or the taste of something sweet on a lover's tongue. Finally, a few see the erotic in terms of humour through wordplay and unexpected juxtapositions. Such a broad spectrum of the erotic guarantees that all readers are sure to find something pleasing.
Haiku is a short form of poetry, capturing the essence of an experienced moment. The poems in this collection take a step further to focus on erotic moments in all their varieties. The earlier conception of a 5/7/5 structure has given way to a freer form; most haiku poets today agree that a haiku should consist of seventeen syllables (if there is no artificiality) or fewer. It is the moment, not the syllables, that matter.

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George Swede is a leading Canadian poet, whose poems have been published in over 150 periodicals and anthologies. He is the author of 36 books, and is the editor and co-author of The Universe is One Poem: Four Poets Talk Poetry.

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