The author credited with writing the first book about real English women’s sex lives will appear at the Nottingham Festival of Literature.
Wendy Jones will talk about Sex Lives of English Women, which explores the intimate experiences of 24 women from a variety of backgrounds.
The book includes interviews with a girl guide leader, a transexual, a nun and a 94-year-old who survived the war.
Wendy said: “In all the books in 700 years of English literary history there’s not one that listens to women.
“They are always given advice and told how to behave – but never given space or actually asked how they feel.”
To conduct her research Wendy went out with a tape recorder and spoke to women about their families, partners, sexual histories and every day lives.
Each woman has a unique sexuality and a story to tell
She said: “I wanted to invite them to talk about their experiences, share what they’ve learned and be open about who they are.
“What struck me was how all women are experts in some area – each one has a unique sexuality and a story to tell.”
The Sex Lives of English Women: Burlesque – Samantha, 28, Newcastle
“There’s a real sense of community among burlesque dancers so if there’s a dodgy photographer or a dodgy promoter, everybody will message, ‘Watch out for this guy, don’t reply to him.’ We look out for each other. Most of the girls are English. Average age is probably mid to late twenties, early thirties. There’s not that many younger ones; people find it a little bit uncomfortable when the girls are too young. There was one girl and she was seventeen. I know at seventeen you think you’re a woman. That’s a little bit too young to be doing a show; you haven’t really had enough experience. I hadn’t even had sex when I was seventeen so I wouldn’t have been able to dance because I wouldn’t have known how to do it. If you’re young you don’t really get that same rapport with an audience.”
Wendy is currently writing her fifth book, The Sex Lives of English Men, which will be published in 2018.
She said: “The book is for every one – I want to engage with the audience about this powerful subject and encourage people to open up.
“The literary festival will be fascinating and I’ll be grateful to everyone who turns up.”
Wendy’s talk will take place at The Galleries of Justice Museum, on High Pavement, from 5.30 – 6.30pm on Friday.
The festival, which is funded by Arts Council England and Nottingham City Council, comes just before the first anniversary of Nottingham’s UNESCO City of Literature accreditation, making it one of just 20 around the world recognised for its literary excellence.
A selection of workshops, poetry readings and networking events will be held throughout the week to celebrate Nottingham’s diverse literary history.
There will also be talks from more than 30 other well-known writers including Michael Symmons Roberts, Joanna Cannon, Cathy Rentzenbrink and Amit Chaudhuri.
Last week a new art exhibition featuring over 300 lines of poetry was launched onto the underside of the Karlsruhe Friendship Bridge over Station Street to celebrate.
The project was created by artist Jo Fairfax and featured words from from Nottinghamshire writers including Byron, Lawrence, Ovid and Clifton-born singer Jake Bugg.
For more information on the Nottingham Festival of Literature and Nottingham City of Literature visit their websites or call 0115 837 2248.
