Best of Sex Writing, featuring Deesha Philyaw and Kim Addonizio

As summer slips away, what better interviews to revisit than two that feature writing about sex in all its myriad forms—desire, confession, and as thinking pieces that speak to who we are, what we crave, and also how we’re controlled and boxed in and limited. Two of our favorites from this past year, Deesha Philyaw and Kim Addonzio, give writers a lot to think about on the subject of sex writing, and so much more.

ABOUT DEESHA PHILYAW AND KIM ADDONIZIO

Deesha Philyaw’s debut short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction and for The Story Prize (2020/2021). Her work has been listed as Notable in the Best American Essays series, and her writing on race, parenting, gender, and culture has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, McSweeney’s, The Rumpus, Brevity, and elsewhere. Kim Addonizio is the author of eight poetry collections, two novels, two story collections, and two books on writing poetry, The Poet’s Companion and Ordinary Genius. She has received fellowships from the NEA and Guggenheim Foundation, Pushcart Prizes in both poetry and the essay, and her work has been widely translated and anthologized. Tell Me was a National Book Award Finalist. Her new poetry collection is Now We’re Getting Somewhere.