Book Review: Make The Golf Course A Public Sex Forest
Reviews by: Luna Brekke, Writer @LunaStarGays
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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“Make the golf course a public sex forest? An idea so obvious that it hardly feels necessary to explain further. But in case there is still hesitancy, we wrote this pamphlet to expand a bit upon the proposal.”
Thus begins the first entry of this collection of poetry, pornography, and political theory, centered around the rallying cry, “Make the Golf Course a Public Sex Forest!” Originally born from opposition to the environmental disaster known as the Hiawatha Golf Course (a questionable use of urban land in South Minneapolis that requires pumping hundreds of millions of gallons of groundwater to prevent it from sinking back into its original wetland state), this eye-catching, provocative slogan serves as theme and title for a 29-entry collection of queer, arousing, thought-provoking writing.
Make the Golf Course a Public Sex Forest! is edited by Lyn Corelle and jimmy cooper. Its entries span a wide range of style, topic, and purpose, including a piece of sci-fi erotica that does for pornography what Lovecraft-adjacent cosmic horror does for the horror genre (”Orchids in Bloom'' by Clark Ruhff), a thoughtful treatise on queer liberation’s (over-)reliance on possibly-reductive interpretations of sex (”No Orgasms Allowed” by coolsquid), and an anti-golf pro-revolution poem that is as rousing as it is arousing (”An Erotic Horror” by Ash Marks).
While some entries are clearly erotica, some entries are clearly poetry, and some entries are clearly political theory, all of them have at least a little bit of all three. The depictions of sex are written with a stylish, poetic flair; the poems are written from a lens of activism in pursuit of justice; the essays are written to evoke just a touch of arousal in the reader. There’s no solid lines between these formats, and nowhere is this clearer than in (my personal favorite entry) “Decision Making in Brainless Organisms” by Raechel Anne Jolie. In it, Jolie compares the consciousness of fungi, the consciousness of subspace, and the consciousness of a group of activists at a protest, and how all three depend on, as she puts it, “non-siloed choices through somatics, intuition, and the dynamic relationship” between yourself and your fellow fungi, your dom, your trusted comrades. Their writing switches effortlessly from deliciously filthy smut to evocative poetic description to discussing academic writing on fungi, and it all feels like the same theme, the same type of writing. This sweet spot between these three genres is where this book makes its home, and it does so perfectly and naturally, making you wonder why these styles don’t intersect more often.
Somewhere in these 29 entries there will be something that will make you feel uncomfortable. At least one aspect of at least one of the chapters will almost definitely push you outside your comfort zone and present a perspective, an idea, and/or a sexual fetish that will feel wrong to you. If you engage with that idea, you may find it still feels wrong to you, or you may find that it’s something you never considered but that it may have a place in your life/brain/perspective/bedroom. In my opinion, it’s important to occasionally test things outside your comfort zone like that.
One such entry that pushed me a bit was “Tarpaulin” by Incalculable Debt. This story tells of a trip to a festival-esque dance party in the woods, and it includes graphic descriptions of drug-fueled, kinky sex acts, including an extended depiction of needle play. This is something that I personally am not interested in, and it made me uncomfortable to read it, but I also felt value in reading it anyways. A public sex forest would be for the public, which includes folks of all sexual inclinations - vanilla and kinky, straight and queer, with every possible point on the gradient of human sexual experience. I have kinks that others would find uncomfortable, some of which can be found in this book, so this book is also a space for kinks that I find uncomfortable, and that’s okay.
There are no story-by-story content warnings in this book, though in the introduction the editors give instructions to contact them for specific concerns. I found that in my personal opinion all of the more sensitive topics were handled responsibly and tactfully, though your experience may vary. They also seemed to be signaled far enough ahead that, if there’s something you truly do not want to read about, you’d be able to pick up on it and stop before reaching the more graphic descriptions. You can always move onto the next entry. It is important to know that this book will probably push your limits at times, but if anything that’s just one more reason to read it.
More than anything, this book raises questions about politics, nature, sex, community, and queerness that are neither easily dismissed nor easily answered. The entries in this collection cry out to be processed and digested and discussed, making it a perfect fit for your more adventurous book clubs. This is not an easy, quick read to be fast consumed and faster forgotten; rather it demands and seizes your attention and your thoughts, requiring you to savor each entry. It is worth every ounce of effort and time it requires, and it has earned a place on my shelf - not just as a conversation starter (which it automatically is by virtue of its title), but as a book I plan to revisit time and time again.
I look forward to seeing all of you at the sex forest.
Make the Golf Course a Public Sex Forest! is edited by Lyn Corelle and jimmy cooper; it is self-published under their imprint Maitland Systems Engineering. The first print run is sold out, but they are currently taking orders for a second print run which are estimated to arrive this May. All profits from sales go to Minneapolis area food shares. Copies can be purchased for $15 from Boneshaker Books or The Book House (both in Minneapolis), or online here:https://maitlandsystems.bigcartel.com/product/make-the-golf-course-a-public-sex-forest. There is also a release party planned at Eagles #34 in Minneapolis on April 1st featuring readings and live music. There is no cover charge, and masks are required. More info on their Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sex_Forest.
