Talk about impossible tasks! How on earth am I supposed to limit myself to just ten favorite quotes from writers of dirty books? In truth, I would need more like ten hundred, as almost all of my favorite epigrams come from erotic literature. But my horrible boss demanded that I limit myself to ten, so here goes (and please don’t tell me what a terrible job I’ve done because I already know, I already know!):
Erotic literature is the only kind that can truly capture the complexity and depth of human desire.
Alison Tyler
Alison pretty much sums it up for me, which is why I put her quote in the number one slot and, by the way, it’s why we created this site too.
Erotic literature is not just about sex, but about the emotions and power dynamics that underlie it.
Megan Hart
Oh, so true, yet so commonly misunderstood. I might go so far as to say that the sex part is the least important part of erotic literature!
The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.
Anais Nin
As usual, Anais takes it up to a whole other level, and in one sentence, no less.
Eroticism is assenting to life even in death.
Georges Bataille
Unpack this gem from Georges and you’ll see that it explains everything there is to explain about everything.
Eroticism is like a dance: one always leads the other.
Milan Kundera
Uh huh, that’s what I’m talking about, baby.
The only unnatural sex act is that which you cannot perform.
Alfred Kinsey
Come on, how could I even think about not including good old Alfred in this list?
I am thinking of aurochs and angels, the secret of durable pigments, prophetic sonnets, the refuge of art. And this is the only immortality you and I may share, my Lolita.
Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
Yep, that how it’s done by the maestro of maestros.
I was now got into the delightful country of sexual pleasure, and was wandering through its Elysian fields, which so much resemble those of the classics, where the sun shines and the air is always mild, and where every object is bathed in eternal light.
John Cleland, Fanny Hill
Oh, those days of yesteryear, how I long for them.
The body is the mind’s bride, but the mind is the body’s father.
John Updike, Couples
Ouch, that one sort of hurts, but in a good way, if you know what I mean.
I’m not a man who is looking for redemption. I’m a man who is looking for pleasure.
Philip Roth, Sabbath’s Theater
The same could be said of a woman, so let’s be fair, kay?
And that concludes my exhaustive list of inspiring quotes from authors of dirty books. You won’t find a single other one out there, I swear!