An Anthology of Erotic Verse

1993

Colin Gibson Erotica Collection. Every effort has been made to trace copyright ownership and to obtain permission for reproduction. If you believe you are the copyright owner of an item on this site, and we have not requested your permission, please contact us at special.collections@otago.ac.nz

London: Softback Preview

The tradition of erotica, or erotic literature, is nothing new. It covers all genres from poetry and prose, to satire and short stories. Erotica takes its name from the Greek word for sexual love, eros, and over the centuries many familiar literary names have taken up the pen to write their own version of the genre: Sappho (6th cent. BC), Catullus (1st cent. BC), Peter Abelard (1079-1142), François Rabelais (1494-1553), Aphra Behn (1640-89), Robert Burns (1759-96), George Sand (1804-76), Colette (1873-1954), and William S. Burroughs (1914-97), to name a few. The image on the front of this anthology is from a painting by English artist, John William Waterhouse (1849-1917), and depicts the Greek and Roman legend of Hylas being enraptured by the water nymphs.