Seven Hundred Kisses: A Yellow Silk Book of Erotic Writing

The founder and editor of Yellow Silk, the 15-year-old magazine of literary erotica, offers a collection that is as intelligent as it is titillating. Pond's mission is to broaden the definition of erotica by curtailing cliches and daring to explore what so often gets overlooked--real, accessible people. As she says in her introduction: ""These are people who do have feelings--which help, which get in the way, which are contradictory. These are people who are scared, loving, baking bread, unrolling a nylon stocking."" The 60 pieces of poetry and prose are by famous as well as new authors, but none lacks for quality, style, originality and complexity. There is the rollicking satiation of Carlos Fuentes's ""Apollo and the Whores,"" the slow revelation of Debra Violyn's ""My Shadow Has Blond Hair,"" the heady flirtation of Walter Mosley's ""The Little Yellow Dog,"" the sensual vision of equality in Stephanie Marlis's ""Blue"" and the intoxicating obsession in Kathryn Steadman's ""What She Wrote Him."" Readers will also recognize authors such as Tobias Wolf, Jane Smiley and Dorothy Allison. Action is secondary to mood, motive and emotion. This provocative anthology is about language that soothes, surprises and arouses. Ultimately, it's an affectionate celebration of eros. (July)