August '24 Journal Prompts
“Stories are able to help us become more whole, to become Named. And Naming is one of the impulses behind all art; to give a name to the cosmos, we see despite all the chaos.”
Madeleine L'Engle
What role have stories and fantasies played in your life?
In what ways was the reading of romantic fiction, erotica, smut, etc nurtured or discouraged?
Madeleine L’Engle says that, “Reading about the response of people in stories, plays, poems, helps us to respond more courageously and openly at our own moments of turning.” How could reading romance novels and erotica encourage you to be a more courageous sexual human?
If your real-life and fantasy desires are vastly different, does reading erotic literature help or harm your sexual life? Why?
In Erotic Interludes we read “It is the unknown, the curiosity of ‘what it might be like,’ that causes the rush that accompanies the trespassing over acceptable boundaries, that increases erotic attraction." Does reading fiction/erotica/romance allow us to experience the “rush” without the consequences? If so, how is this a good thing?
Jack Morin, PhD. states that “We make a terrible mistake if we reject (lust) completely. Our erotic health requires that we make room for lust, for it provides much of the zest that makes sex fun and self-affirming. when lust falls victim to the forces of repression, it's negative potentials increase dramatically.” How could incorporating fantasy, smut, and erotic literature zest up your sex life?
Can erotic literature cause us to rethink our automatic responses and prejudices instilled by our culture? If yes, how so?
What erotic fiction can you read this month?
