London Review Bookshop Podcast Sex, Poetry and the Turning World: Sarah Howe, Sandeep Parmar and guests
Sep 16, 2026
Sophie Robinson, poet and author of Prairie Oyster, and Oluwaseun Olayiwola, poet, critic and choreographer, join Sarah Howe and Sandeep Parmar to explore how poetry writes sex. They discuss explicit language, queer desire, bodily mess, consent, secrecy and power. Readings from Robinson and Olayiwola open into conversations about rhythm, spirituality, performance and the body’s place in contemporary poetry.
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Why Lyric Poetry Fits Sex Outside Time
- Poetry can represent sex as sensory, nonlinear experience rather than chronological mechanics.
- Sophie Robinson says good sex leaves impressions outside time, making lyric poetry’s movement through imagery and sound especially suitable.
Sex Works Best As A Mode Of Presence
- Sex works best in poetry when it creates presence without becoming self-conscious reportage.
- Oluwaseun Olayiwola compares sex to a vehicle for exploring desire, pain and grief rather than treating sex as the only subject.
Two Poems Turn Desire Into Abundance
- Sophie Robinson reads “Cancer, Leo Rising,” pairing explicit desire with awkward humor, tenderness and bodily mess.
- She follows it with Eileen Myles’s poem, where a lover’s body becomes waterfall, badge, prayer and protection.
