‘Jouissance’ is a complex concept meaning to transgress the limits imposed on pleasure. French feminist writer Hélène Cixous framed it as an erotic, mystical abundance – the source of female creative power. It’s also the driving idea behind a new series of light erotica titled The Collector from London-based Jouissance Perfumes.
The erotic works for which Anaïs Nin is remembered today initially arose from a freelance job. To support their bohemian lifestyles, Nin and her writer friends earned a dollar a page writing pornography for an anonymous client. The writers hated The Collector, as they called him, for his repeated instructions to “Concentrate on sex. Leave out the poetry”.
These stories seek to pay homage to writers such as Nin who explored the erotic, the taboo and the connection between jouissance and the creative process. It also honours their chosen, but much maligned, genre. By commissioning some of their favourite female writers to compose erotic short stories, Jouissance hopes to release an ever-growing collection of compelling and provocative fiction that will inspire conversation, debate and further creative expression.
In The Rebound by Natasha Stagg (Surveys, Artless), a young woman takes a work trip in the wake of a humiliating break-up, and agrees to be set up on a blind date...
In Holds, a short story by author Julia Armfield (salt slow, Private Rites), a woman engages in a fantasy at her local climbing wall...
In House of the Sleeping Beauty, a short story by Emily Wells (A Matter of Appearance), a young woman reflects on the experiences that led to her fetish for unconsciousness...
In Les Mains Négatives by Susanna Davies-Crook, a woman goes on an erotic journey through her past, present and future.
The Collector volumes are coverless Munken Pure 80gsm paper publications with red Singer Sewn binding. 8.5cm x 13.8cm, 14 pages.
