THE KENSINGTON LADIES'
EROTICA SOCIETY

More than twenty-five years ago, Sabina Sedgewick, librarian and founder of the Kensington Ladies Erotica Society, was cataloging a collection of erotica for the UC Bancroft Library. She found herself asking: Are women turned on, as men are, by what they read? She tossed out the question at a faculty party one New Year's Eve. Many gathered around her, but it was Nell Port who handed Sabina her card and said, "if you decide to start a group to explore the subject, call me."

Sabina did, and the Kensington Ladies' Erotica Society was born. After dutifully reading Anais Nin, Henry Miller, Nancy Friday and others, along with Penthouse, Playboy and Chic, the newly formed group decided that none of it spoke to contemporary American women. Sabina urged them to try their hand at writing their own erotic fantasies.

The group met monthly over potluck dinners—sumptuous meals that rivaled the stories for attention. These were not seasoned writers and this was neither a writing group nor one of the consciousness-raising groups so popular at the time. Although there was no intent to publish in those early days, one of the Ladies, Rose Solomon, quietly collected the accumulating stories in a cardboard box. By 1983, she felt they had amassed a book-worthy manuscript. A few got together to perform minor editing and to create saucy introductions to the various sections they assigned to the writings. They called the book Ladies Home Erotica, and, through a set of fortuitous circumstances (a story in itself) the manuscript found its way to Phil Wood of Berkeley's Ten Speed Press.

The title Ladies' Home Erotica was short-lived. Ladies Home Journal wrote a "cease and desist" letter maintaining that the title would "confuse" its readership), but the book flourished under its changed title, Ladies' Own Erotica, remaining on the Bay Area trade paperback bestseller list for 26 weeks. With their hastily assumed pseudonyms and now signature masks, the Ladies embarked on a national book tour that included appearances on the local "People Are Talking," then "The Oprah Winfrey Show, " Dr. Ruth and Terri Gross's "Fresh Air" on National Public Radio. Testimony that they were not regarded as all fluff and giggles, Ladies Own Erotica was included on the reading list of a course offered by the Radcliffe Institute called "Women Finding a Voice." To their delight, they found themselves translated into German, Croatian, Dutch, and Japanese. Soon they were invited to produce yet another collection, and, in 1986, Look Homeward Erotica was born.

In May of 2002, the Kensington Ladies, now in their sixties and seventies, once again stepped into the literary marketplace, this time with the apt title, Sex, Death & Other Distractions. Once again they are appearing at bookstores and other events to talk about and read from all three of their midlife productions, and once again, the reviews are pouring in. One of their early favorites came from the highly regarded Publishers Weekly, whose reviewer noted of Sex, Death & Other Distractions: "Here, the 'f'' word stands for 'food.'" That remark ultimately got the Ladies to food columnist Michele Anna Jordan's show (Mouthful) on the North Bay's public broadcasting station, KRCB. So pleased was KRCB with the show that the taped readings were offered as gifts to new subscribers to the radio station. As if that were not flattering enough, based on that tape, Michele Anna Jordan was nominated a second time for the James Beard award.

In its reissue of Ladies Own Erotica and Look Homeward Erotica, Ten Speed has created a handsome matching trilogy whose stories continue to intrigue all ages. The Kensington Ladies are available for interviews, readings, and appearances around the greater Bay Area. (See "BOOK US!)