Passionate Hearts: The Poetry of Sexual Love [Paperback]

Wendy Maltz (Editor), Molly Peacock (Preface), Barry McCarthy (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 2006

Compiled by renowned sex therapist and author Wendy Maltz, Passionate Hearts is a remarkable anthology of intimate, emotionally explicit, yet accessible poetry, representing new voices as well as the most revered contemporary poets. Culled from classic works of poetry, unpublished work solicited especially for the book, and poetry and erotica journals, these poems celebrate sexual connection and expression. Contributors include Sharon Olds, Gary Soto, E. E. cummings, Marge Piercy, Raymond Carver, Galway Kinnell, Pablo Neruda, and Tess Gallagher.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Renowned sex therapist and author, Wendy Maltz assembled this collection of poetry, hoping to offer inspiration to couples who like it hot, but also heartfelt. This is an excellently edited selection--void of flowery nonsense or male-domination fantasies disguised in pretty-clothed words. We are given visions and vignettes as satiating and stirring as the act itself. For parents of young children there's even a chapter devoted to the urgency of get-it-while-you-can, as well as the deepening sexuality that comes with parenthood. "Sex has a way of softening limbs, / oiling joints and melding hearts ...," writes poet Wendy Lee. And so does this book. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

All Day At Work by Deborah Abbott
First Night by Julia H. Ackerman
Alone In Your House by Kim Theresa Addonizio
Waking Up Twice by James Anderson
Good God, What A Night That Was by Petronius Arbiter
Envoi: Waking After Snow by David Baker
And This Is So by Joseph H. Ball
Tango'd Love by J. B. Bernstein
In Bed This Morning by Teresa Blagg
Twin Flames by James Broughton
Privacy by Olga Broumas
Look At Me by Kim Ly Bui-burton
My Love Is Like A Lily by Kim Ly Bui-burton
Poem For R by Kim Ly Bui-burton
Love Poem by E. K. Caldwell
Flight From The Marriage Bed by Lisa M. Carbone
Adagio At Twilight by John Carter
Woman Bathing by Raymond Carver
Return by Constantine P. Cavafy
Complicated Shadows by Stephen Dale Corey
I Like My Body When It Is With Your by Edward Estlin Cummings
Dog Days And Delta Nights by Franz Douskey
Wet Bodies by Franz Douskey
Manon Reassures Her Lover by Martha Elizabeth
She Teaches Him To Reach Out by Martha Elizabeth
Late Afternoon by Molly Fisk
Red River by Molly Fisk
Encounter by Rick Fournier
Little Invitation In A Hushed Voice by Tess Gallagher
Sea Inside The Sea by Tess Gallagher
Keys by Barbara J. Garshman
Fortunately The Skins by Judy Grahn
Balance by James Harris
Half-sleeping by Jane Hirshfield
The Music Like Water by Jane Hirshfield
Of Gravity & Angels by Jane Hirshfield
To Drink by Jane Hirshfield
The Pleasure Of Feeling Inside Your Body by Rochelle Lynn Holt
Wanting You by Terra Hunter
Foreplay by Natasha Josefowitz
Music by Natasha Josefowitz
Learning To Laugh by Allison Joseph
Pleasure by Allison Joseph
Thunder Storm by George Keithley
Moonburn by Laura H. Kennedy
Untitled: 1 by Laura H. Kennedy
After Making Love We Hear Footsteps by Galway Kinnell
Last Gods by Galway Kinnell
Transformation: The Phoenix Is Rising by Adria Klinger
Midnight by Alison Welsh Kolodinsky
Married Love by Kuan Tao Sheng
The Thief by Dorianne Laux
Lovers' Duet by Wendy Lee
Sex Has A Way by Wendy Lee
Far In by Rachel Loden
With Thanks To Eddie Shaw by Janet Lowe
A Decade by Amy Lowell
Loving Along Western Rivers by Stephen Lyons
Remembering by Stephen Lyons
Touching You Under Water by Stephen Lyons
Middle Age by Arlene L. Mandell
Bedside by Clive Matson
Orchestration by Jane Mayes
Anniversary by Gary Metras
Vanishing Point by Gary Metras
He Kneels On The Rumpled Bed by Gail Morse
Our Love by Jo Nelson
The Knowing by Sharon Olds
New Mother by Sharon Olds
Lullaby by Molly Peacock
My God, Why Are You Crying? by Molly Peacock
The Purr by Molly Peacock
The Return by Molly Peacock
The Surge by Molly Peacock
Implications Of One Plus One by Marge Piercy
It Arrives Suddenly And Carries Us Off As Usual by Marge Piercy
Morning Love Song by Marge Piercy
Desire by Kim Ports
The Morning After by Johari Mahasin Rashad
Place Setting by Johari Mahasin Rashad
Spring Storm by Johanna Rayl
Drunk As Drunk On Turpentine by Naftali Ricardo Reyes Basuato
Aubade by Kate Richardson
Nostalgia by Charles Rossiter
Your Body Glistens From The Bath by Charles Rossiter
The Very Floor Of Our Existence by June Billings Safford
Giving Thanks by Anne K. Smith
Praise by Anne K. Smith
Springtime At Twilight by Michael S. Smith
Watering The New Lawn by Michael S. Smith
The Blossom by Thomas R. Smith
The Trees That Change Our Lives by Gary Soto
An Aubade by Timothy Reid Steele
The Image Was Of Me Flowing Through You by David Steinberg
Purple Is The Color Of The Longing by David Steinberg
Slowly, Slowly by David Steinberg
With You I Begin by David Steinberg
Her Back To Me by Edward William Stever
A Need For Armor by Eileen Stratidakis
Old Moon With Her Youth In Her Arms by Gale Swiontkowski
Palms by June Sylvester
I Have Touched by Patti Tana
Marvelous Beast by Patti Tana
No by Patti Tana
The River by Patti Tana
You Bring Me Back by Patti Tana
The Mystery by Sara Teasdale
We Take The New Young Couple Out To Dinner by Carol Tufts
Dead Still by Andrei Voznesensky
Desire by Connemara Wadsworth
Snow Climbers by Steve Wiesinger
Dolce by Kennette H. Wilkes
Milkflowers by Robert Wrigley
Sharing by Alan Yount
You Touch Me by Andrena Zawinski
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

This is no casual collection of love poems, but an intense gathering of poems which celebrate sexual intimacy and spiritual warmth. Over 1,500 submissions were reviewed for this collection: the result's an intense display of meaningful, involving poems transcending the usual brief celebration of love. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: New World Library; 2nd edition (December 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577315677
• ISBN-13: 978-1577315674
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wendy Maltz, LCSW, DST, is an internationally recognized sex therapist, author, and lecturer, with more than thirty-five years of experience providing help for sex and intimacy concerns. She is a leading expert on healing from sexual abuse, understanding sexual fantasies, overcoming problems caused by pornography, and developing skills for healthy sexual intimacy. Wendy is co-director, with her husband Larry Maltz, of Maltz Counseling Associates in Eugene, Oregon and an adjunct professor at the University of Oregon Graduate Program in Couples and Family Therapy. Her educational website, www.HealthySex.com, provides free articles, posters, interviews, and inspirations that assist in healing and promote sexual health.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Positive Images of Sexual Love, May 21, 2003

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Passionate Hearts: The Poetry of Sexual Love (Paperback)

Half-sleeping,
my body pulls toward yours-
desire a long oar dipping
again and again
in this night's dark rain.
~jane hirshfield

The poems in "Passionate Hearts" are based on mutual caring and respect. They are about heart-connected sex and evoke vivid images of warm loving relationships. This truly is a celebration of the moments of beauty in the sexual experience.

I love the way Natasha Josefowitz describes herself as a violin and how Robert Wrigley talks about painting his lovers skin with invisible roses. There are beautiful metaphors mixed in with bolder expressions of the real-life experience.

I started reading the poems and within a few hours I had read the entire book. Each poem was filled with such mystery and beauty. I noticed they were arranged from the excitement of new love to the experience of finding time for sex when you have a family and then the book ends with poems about the autumn of love.

If you are inspired by the universal experience of poetry and enjoy the mysteries of sexual love, these poems provide a healthy look at sexual intimacy.

~The Rebecca Review

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich in content - Worth Keeping, January 20, 2003

By 

Claude (Ont, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Passionate Hearts: The Poetry of Sexual Love (Hardcover)

I have to admit to being very picky. I went looking for a book that was explicit yet tasteful. I wanted something that was definitely erotic but not vulgar. This book more than lives up to my expectations.

Not all poems are sexually exciting but there are enough that are an exquisite turn on, that I wouldn't think of getting rid of this one.

What's best is that my wife, who also has no taste for the profane, has found this book a true pleasure.

If you are looking for graphic details of wild sexual fantasies, this book is not for you. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a classic, honest, heartfelt celebration of sexual love, you will enjoy this one.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly, sexually charged, a new aspect to bed-time reading!, May 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Passionate Hearts: The Poetry of Sexual Love (Hardcover)

This book was astounding. The words, the space, the whole thing was utterly amazing. This is the only book I've found that actually makes me sexually aroused when read aloud, and my partner agrees - it makes him so hard! This book has done wonders for our sex-life, and I owe it all to Wendy Maltz. Forever-thanks.