Strippers, Gynecologists, Amputees
The first short story in the first issue of Penitalia, a new quarterly journal of erotica produced by five UW creative writing majors, is about a guy and his girlfriend on a road trip who get stranded somewhere in Montana and, to pass the time, fuck. "The last night we had the room, she said she would try anything but that I had to choose it," our narrator begins. "I had trouble looking at her after that, so my eyes searched for something to put inside her." In short order, she's having sex with a bottle of Coors. Later, when it becomes clear that their car can't be fixed, the narrator gorges himself at a fried chicken buffet while his girlfriend eats coleslaw: "I did feel a bit like a pig, eating so much in front of her but was glad that she ate lightly--I wanted to fuck her in the ass that afternoon."
The author of the story is Joshua Thompson, one of Penitalia's editors, though whether he's an editing editor or some other kind of editor is kind of unclear and doesn't really matter. (James Sutter, the fiction editor, said, "We kind of just make up titles.") Everything they do is pretty casual. Penitalia editor-at-large Sarah Bradley told me that sometimes when they have their editorial meetings in the HUB (the student union building where groups meet and students study), one of them will say something like, "Is blowjob one word or two?" and all heads in the place will turn.
The first issue (featuring, the editors are proud to say, a piece by UW creative writing professor Ian Sherman) includes sex stories about strippers, flashers, cocksuckers, gynecologists, and amputees. And while founder and managing editor Michael Ryan and the others are doing what they can to ensure the journal is well written (oh, sure, it contains its share of crap), their prevailing mission is for it to be commercially viable. This is more than any of them will say for Bricolage, the annual student-produced UW literary arts journal now in its 20th year. As Ryan put it: "Bricolage's pages stick together because no one opens it. Ours stick together for a different reason."
Reached for a response, Bricolage managing editor Neil Golke said, "I like them, they have a sense of humor, but the fact remains that Bricolage does very well in its sales each year, so someone must be reading us." He added, "I have yet to see the first issue of Penitalia." (It can be ordered online at students.washington.edu/peni and will be available at University Book Store as soon as Ryan prints up another 100 copies. Penitalia's first two printings sold out.)
The purpose of Bricolage, according to its website, is "to provide an opportunity for artists and writers in the University of Washington community to gain validation and exposure through publication in a quality collection of works." The editors of Penitalia don't ever talk like that. Sutter said, "We're all cynical, horny English students who need an outlet." Thompson said, "Speak for yourself, James."
