An Erotic Invitation to Forbidden Love

Hello Wonderful Reader,

Today, I’ve chosen a very special unpublished poem and writing prompts for you to explore the power of forbidden love. You’ll discover why the poet never published this work in a second. So grab a pen and paper, and let’s uncover some of your juicy secrets…

Evanescence

(unpublished, 1920s)

By Angelina Weld Grimké (1880 – 1958)

You are like a pale purple flower

In the blue spring dusk . . . . . .

You are like a yellow star

Budding and glowing

In an apricot sky . . . . . .

You are like the beauty

Of a voice . . . . . .

Remembered after death . . . . . .

You are like thin, white petals

Falling

And

Floating

Down

Upon the white, stilled hushing

Of my soul.

Source: Aphrodite’s Daughters: Three Modernist Poets of the Harlem Renaissance.

1. Write about any secret lovers you haven’t told anyone about.

You are like the beauty

Of a voice . . . . . .

Remembered after death . . . . . .

2. Write about a fragile love that the world tried to take away from you.

You are like a pale purple flower

In the blue spring dusk . . . . . .

3. Write about falling for someone you weren’t supposed to.

Falling

And

Floating

Down

4. Write about the small miracles that brought you and a forbidden lover together.

“You are like a yellow star”

Uncovering the unpublished poems of Angelina Weld Grimké (1880-1958)

I first heard of Angelina Weld Grimké while researching for The Intimacy Journal on poets.org. I discovered that she was a journalist, teacher, playwright, and poet, and an influential figure in the Harlem Renaissance, but much of Grimké’s intimate poetry remained unpublished during her lifetime. Why? Well, works like this week’s featured poem from the 1920s, “Evanescence,” were about same-sex relationships. This was culturally forbidden at the time. I ended up featuring two of her poems in The Intimacy Journal, because it was impossible to pick just one!

Diving deeper into erotic poetry, I found a book that centered on Grimké’s work, called Aphrodite’s Daughters: Three Modernist Poets of the Harlem Renaissance. This was written by Professor Maureen Honey, who recently retired from The University of Nebraska-Lincoln after a 40-year career! She is 80 years old, and naturally, I sent her an email.

She responded that, indeed, Grimké’s unpublished poems are the most erotic, and unfortunately, there is no published collection. It seems like somebody needs to publish these poems! 😂

When I’m not sinking my teeth into some juicy, erotic poetry from the 1920s, I’ve been working on setting up my online storefront, which should be done this week. In the meantime, if you want your copy of The Intimacy Journal, DM me on Instagram. Plus, next week, I’m giving my first external paid workshop at Soho House in Mexico City! I’m terrified, but in a good way. I think we will have the workshop inside, not by the fabulous pool, unfortunately:

I hope you enjoyed this erotic invitation! Reply with your reflections. I’d love to hear them.

Sending love,

Tash

💌 ✍️