Erotic by Nature: A Celebration of Life, of Love, and of Our Wonderful Bodies [Hardcover]

David Steinberg (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1988

Erotic by Nature is a collection of visual and written erotica of unprecedented artistic quality and imagination, a celebration of the potential sex holds for deep joy, wonder, intimacy, and self-awareness. Directed to women and men of all ages and life styles, Erotic by Nature demonstrates that quality erotic photography, writing, and art can be intensely passionate and provocative without being pornographic -- without being stale or inflated, without manipulating sexual frustrations and fears, without depicting sex as an arena of male control and female submission. It is an affirmation of the importance, complexity, and subtlety of sexual feeling, a new genre of erotic imagery and writing that invites us to move beyond both pornography and sexual prohibition to welcome and explore the best of our erotic selves. Drawing from the work of 36 women and 25 men, aged 30 to 73, Erotic by Nature presents a wide range of erotic perspectives that take the reader from the sensual to the sexual, from the familiar to the novel, from the conventional to the daring, from lighthearted play to the deepest aspects of personal identity and interpersonal connection. 122 duotone photographs by Ron Raffaelli, Edna Bullock, Michael Rosen, Tee Corinne, Hella Hammid, Gypsy Ray, Tom Millea, Jack Morin, Vivienne Maricevic, Steven Baratz, Martha Casanave, Marc Chaton, Charlie Clark, Morgan Cowin, Greg Day, Clytia Fuller, Paul Johnson, Catharina Marlowe, Marjorie Michael,Terry Rozo, Stephen Siegel, Ron Terner. 15 short stories by Marco Vassi, Deena Metzger, Sandy Boucher, Michael Rubin, Susan St. Aubin, David Steinberg, C.M. Decarnin, H.M. Ruggieri, Lauren Crux, Norman Lavers, Donna Ippolito, Wheatsinger, Dreaminhawk. 17 drawings by Betty Dodson, Gary Epting, Julie Ball, Harriet Moore, Greg Sterling Gervais, Kaleiiliahi Henkelmann/Muller, Adele Aldridge. 38 poems by James Broughton, Lyn Lifshin, Lenore Kandel, Arthur Knight, Leslie Simon, David Steinberg, Carolyn Kleefeld, Rochelle Lynn Holt, Antler, Ron Koertge, Carolyn Kleefeld, Cheryl Townsend, Dreaminhawk, Virginia Love Long, Lani Kaahumanu, Lili Bita, Deborah Abbott, M. E. Max, Elliot Richman, Michael Hill, Magi Schwartz.

Editorial Reviews

Review

What a delicious book! Every last word and picture is a pure delight, and elevates the realm of the senses to delectable heights. This is a work of art that is lusty, lovely, tender, gentle, and astounding, all at the same time. It is sex at its best! --Stan Dale, sex educator and workshop leader, author of Fantasies Can Set You Free

I am completely charmed. You have proved that with joy, laughter, and a deep awareness of each other as fallible human beings, we can integrate our whole lives into a new, but ancient, kind of religion that simply says I am thou. I will recommend this book to everyone who asks me where the world is going in the 1990's. --Robert Rimmer, author of The Harrad Experiment

A genuine and joyous alternative to pornography that honors being alive, being female, being male. Sexy and sweet, reverent and adoring, this is a sensitive and exciting book that can be shared respectfully across the generations, as well as with friends and lovers. It is a celebration of life itself. --Jeanne Pasle-Green, KPFA talk show host

About the Author

David Steinberg is a photographer, author, editor, and publisher. His other books include Photo Sex: Fine Art Sexual Photography Comes of Age; Erotic by Nature: A Celebration of Life, of Love, and of Our Wonderful Bodies; The Erotic Impulse: Honoring the Sensual Self; and Fatherjournal: Five Years of Awakening to Fatherhood. He is Associate Editor of Sexuality and Culture magazine, and U.S. photo representative for Cupido magazine (Norway/Denmark). His photography and writing have appeared in such journals as Salon, Playboy, Boston Phoenix, Los Angeles Weekly, SF Weekly, The Sun, Libido, The Gay and Lesbian Review, On Our Backs, The Realist, Clean Sheets, Transgender Tapestry, Journal of Gender Studies, and Issues in Radical Therapy. He lives in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Red Alder Books (April 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 094020813X
• ISBN-13: 978-0940208131
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #321,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A joyous celebration of natural beauty in our sexualities., March 8, 1998

By 

R. Brecht (Philadelphia, Pa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Erotic by Nature: A Celebration of Life, of Love, and of Our Wonderful Bodies (Hardcover)

In the fourth paragraph of his introduction, David Steinberg writes, "In truth, for all its preoccupation with sex, our culture still adamantly refuses to address sexual eros with the simple wonder, open curiosity, and profound respect it deserves. And so we have no complex, imaginative and affirmative culture - written or visual - that is deliberately, honestly and sexually erotic."

It is this writer's opinion that Mr. Steinberg has labored with considerable brilliance and devotion on our behalf to begin building a healthier sexual culture. He has collected for us an affirmative, rich and sexually diverse body of work which is characterized by his warmth and humor, and by his sensitivity and generosity of spirit. If your interest is pornography, this book is not for you.

There are some 200 pages here of stories, poems, drawings and photographs celebrating the sexual diversity of humankind. And how magically well Steinberg has chosen on our behalf.

Would you enjoy an artistic cocktail that is sexy, often deeply erotic, touching, sympathetic beautiful, literate, poetic, fun and arousing? I have enjoyed every moment I've spent with this fine collection, and each time I pick it up, I find another delicious little lagniappe.

David Steinberg, this is a wonderful book for those who would get to know eros a little better and nurture him in their own lives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rite of passage!, March 16, 2008

By 

Kim Mears (Monterey, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Erotic by Nature: A Celebration of Life, of Love, and of Our Wonderful Bodies (Hardcover)

Erotic by Nature is an exquisite book filled with some of the most compelling photographs, poems and erotic writing I have ever had the pleasure of viewing and reading.
I was so touched by this book after I first saw it that I have since gifted both my children and children of my friends as a "rite of passage" book for graduation and reaching adulthood.
This book should be required reading in college human sexuality classes.
Every coffee table in America should display this book as a way of promoting a sex positive attitude and allowing people to celebrate their own bodies as well as learning to appreciate the beauty of human sexuality and the art of diversity and acceptance on the purest level.
David Steinberg is a jewel on the crown of a society that is in dire need of being re-educated about what it means to embrace our God given gift of being sexual human beings and accepting who we really are without shame or fear of being "erotic by nature".
Thank you Mr. Steinberg for being one of the brave ones and helping us all celebrate life, love and our wonderful bodies, with pleasure.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can.t sing the praises too highly, March 3, 2011

By 

Michael Ortiz Hill - See all my reviews

This review is from: Erotic by Nature: A Celebration of Life, of Love, and of Our Wonderful Bodies (Hardcover)

I cannot sing the praises of this book too highly. David Steinberg moves fearlessly from the paradigm of pornos (Greek for whore) to Eros (the god of love) -- as a principled feminist who honors the goodness of lust between different and same genders. The photographs are unbearably sexy (BEAR IT!) as is the the poetry and the prose. Erotic by Nature is a gift to a culture stranded between the puritanical and the pornografic.
ENJOY and buy one for lovers,friends and family.
They will be most grateful.