On the evening of Tuesday, 7 April 2009, the New York Review of Science Fiction Readings Series featured an evening of readings by two writers on the spectrum of Erotica, or, as editor and reviewer—and guest curator—Amy Goldschlager put it, “a steamy vibe.” The event, presenting Victoria Janssen and Kris Saknussemm (do not adjust your spellcheckers), was held at the NYRSF Readings Series’ current venue (through the next few months), the main building of the South Street Seaport Museum, at 12 Fulton Street. [left: author Mark Blackman; right: hosts Barbara Krasnoff and Jim Freund]
Following brief opening remarks about future readings (and looking ahead to the Series’ 20th season) before the audience of 25-30 people, the Series’ executive curator, Jim Freund, host of WBAI-FM’s Hour of the Wolf radio program on sf and fantasy, turned things over to Goldschlager. [right: Guest Curator Amy Goldschlager]
Amy introduced her longtime friend Janssen, author of the recently published erotic novel The Duchess, Her Maid, the Groom and Their Lover, who read from her upcoming (December 2009) novel about World War I and werewolves, The Moonlight Mistress. (I guess that, fortunately, the Guns of August weren’t loaded with silver bullets.) The passage selected, which was not particularly erotic, entertainingly described an encounter between a Royal Army nurse and a British officer with a furry secret. Afterward, in a brief question-and-answer session, Victoria noted the overlap between fantasy and romance/erotica, but pointed out the difference in world-building between the genres (sf/fantasy is more demanding). She described The Duchess… as alternate history/fantasy/erotica, said that her favorite author was Emma Holly, and spoke about the growing popularity of paranormal romance (not so much a new genre as a new marketing category for a subgenre that has been around for a while), which led to a discussion of the genre. (Laurell K. Hamilton adds noir detective to the mix of dark fantasy/alternate history/erotica.) Remarking on the paucity of questions, she said SF/fantasy audiences were “shy” compared to those at her erotica readings. [left: Victoria Janssen]
After a break, Amy returned to the podium to introduce new friend, painter, sculptor, and acclaimed cult novelist Kris Saknussemm. His latest novel, Private Midnight, she said, has been described as an “erotic supernatural thriller set in a noir crime world of jazz, junkies, and shadows from out of time.” The promotional copy, she noted in an aside, came with a pair of plastic handcuffs, which said it all, and Saknussemm owned to it being pornography more than erotica—based on his selection, I’d say it’s definitely kinky (as the joke has it, they use a feather, not a whole chicken)—but also called it a love story between a police detective and a beguilingly mysterious woman. It was one of the most unusual presentations in the Series’ long history, as Kris’s darkly atmospheric passages were interspersed with jazz solos on tenor sax by Eric Watts while Saknussemm treated the audience to a bizarre display of performance art, tossing along the floor sex paraphernalia, lingerie, and face masks, and at one point, whipped the floor with a cat-o’-nine-tails. (Freund’s radio listeners, said Goldschlager, were missing out on the performance.) [right: Eric Watts and Kris Saknussemm]
The audience included Rick Bowes (last and next month’s guest curator), Harold Garber, Barbara Krasnoff, Gordon Linzner, Chris Schluep, Ian Randal Strock, and Paul Witcover. Afterward (once Kris had gathered up his tchotchkes), as customary, the guests and several members of the audience adjourned to a nearby pub for dinner and conversation. [left: post-reading dinner crowd]