How to Write Sex Without Shame: A Filthy Generative Quartet with Steve Almond

In this naughty foursome of classes, we'll look at the work of writers ranging from Marguerite Duras to Tony Morrison to Per Olov Enquist, in an effort to set down on the page the embodied desires that we, and our characters, struggle towards and against. We'll devote each week to a different aspect of sex, from foreplay to afterglow, from the fantasies we bear alone to the ecstasies of bodies in congress. All classes 7-9 pm EST.

Week 1: The Waiting Is the Hardest Part: How to Foreplay (Oct. 5)

The pornification of culture has blinded us to the essential truth of sexuality, which is that desire is the engine of erotic endeavor. In this class, we'll focus on the fantasies, small gestures, and sensual particulars of courtship that propel us into acts of love.

Week 2: Auto Erotic: How to Pleasure Yourself on the Page (Oct. 12)

I know this sounds a bit untoward, but the truth is that much of the sex we have in this world is, well, self induced and self administered. In this class, we'll examine the precise ways in which we choose to give ourselves pleasure, the shame we carry about these ministrations, and sense of freedom we sometimes experience in the realm of onanism.

Week 3: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Oct. 19)

There comes a time in every story when the protagonist at last--or all of a sudden--offers themselves up to the business of getting down. Whatever form this takes--and let's hope many!--our job this week will be to slow down and move past the gyrations of sex and into the corporeal, emotional, and psychological experiences of sex.

Week 4: Reaching Climax (Oct. 26)

After three long weeks, we've finally arrived. And it's no surprise that it took so long. Because the unspoken truth is that orgasm is an intensely personal and vulnerable place, a place where we surrender our attachment to order, anxiety and control and simply feel. It's intense and terrific and terrifying, and we'll use this week to explore the experience and its meaning.

Suggested companion text: Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories (Zando, April 2024)

About the instructor

Steve Almond is the author of twelve books of fiction and non-fiction including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His first novel, Which Brings Me to You (co-written with Julianna Baggott) was made into way-better-than-he-expected movie starring Lucy Hale and Nat Wolff. His last novel, All the Secrets of the World, is in development for television by 20th Century Fox. His work has appeared in the Best American Short Stories, the Pushcart Prize, Best American Mysteries, and the NYT Magazine. His most recent book, Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow, is about craft, inspiration, and how to keep going at the keyboard. Almond teaches at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism and lives outside Boston with his family and his anxiety.