poetree

In honor of QUILTBAG pride month, our next community themed week focuses on emotional intimacy.

Emotional intimacy includes but is not limited to sexual or romantic intimacy. For more information about nonsexual intimacies, see

ysabetwordsmith's excellent reference series on the topic. If you do choose to tackle the topic of sexual emotional intimacy, we ask that anything more explicit than PG-13 territory go under a cut tag.

In addition to poems that focus on or convey emotional intimacy, we invite discussion and reflection on what elements of poetry itself, or what particular types of poems, are especially well-suited to conveying emotional intimacy. Why do people historically turn to poetry and song to express intense feelings? Is there something about the ambiguity or coded language of certain types of poetry that fosters intimacy and expression of sentiments that feel too big or too private to share easily in prose?

For example, someone could do a historical survey of queer poetry focusing on the use of coded language to convey emotional intimacy outlawed or otherwise repressed by society in the time and place it was written.

If you would like to participate, please comment on this post to claim a particular open slot and some sense of what content you'll post. You may also use the comment section to solicit collaborators for a group post.

Monday, June 17th:

poetree_admin: Intro / Posting schedule

Tuesday, June 18th: jjhunter and the Secret Society of Stealthy Sonneteers: collaboratively written sonnets re: secrecy / intimacy

Wednesday, June 19th: kaberett, Exploration of Poem: How To Make Love To A Trans Person [explicit!]

Thursday, June 20th: raze, Friendship as a Form of Intimacy and Friendship Poetry

Friday, June 21st: bookblather, emotional intimacy vs. sexual intimacy

Saturday, June 22nd: alee_grrl, subject to be decided

Last edited 6/17/13 by alee_grrl