Nerve.com: 10 years of 'Literate Smut' and a sexy new book to show for it

December 16, 9:25 AMSex & Relationships ExaminerSarah Estrella

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Nerve: The First 10 Years, $40, Chronicle Books

I've loved Nerve.com ever since I first heard that sexy tagline -- "Literate Smut" -- a decade ago: Smart and sexy writing paired with arty and cliche-free nude photography? Sign me up!

I used to love the old (and short-lived) print magazine too, but Nerve is most interesting as an Internet phenomenon. Click on over to check it out: Anything totally NSFW will be labeled as such; you'll have to register as a member to get the really good stuff or pony up for a premiere membership to get to the really good stuff.

In the 10 years that Nerve has been getting smarter and smarter, most of the rest of the sexy stuff on the Internet has been getting dumber and dumber, making the contrast even clearer. And the great thing about Nerve.com, nearly unheard of in online writing, especially about sex, is that most of it belongs in a big beautiful $40 book full of essays, interviews, fiction and (of course) sexy fine art photography. What do you know? Just in time for a sexy holdiay gift... 

Nerve: The First 10 Years is a new anthology celebrating Nerve's first decade, and Salon.com Broadsheet writer Tracy Clark Flory has a fascinating interview with Nerve CEO Rufus Griscom up today for the occasion. And, what the hell -- I told you Nerve was most interesting as an Internet phenomenon, right? -- might as well tell you: The entire book is available online (potentially NSFW, depending on where you work). 

Photographers like Richard Kern, George Pitts, Spencer Tunick, Barron Claiborne, Natasha Papadopoulou, and Mike Dowson will probably be the main reason you'll want to go ahead and buy the book even after reading it online; bookshelf-worthy writers like Jonathan Letherm, Chuck Palahniuk, and Jonathan Ames (plus interviews with the likes of Mary Gaitskill, Norman Mailer, and David Cronenberg) will help convince you even further.

Here's one great quote from the Salon.com interview today:

"Tracy Clark-Flory: What makes sex writing good?

Rufus Griscom: I think what makes sex writing interesting is the fact that we still -- despite all these many decades of sexual liberation -- struggle with taboos and a sense of guilt and shame over parts of our sexualities. One of the ways Nerve has always been different from the pro-sex contingent is that we think the taboos are what make sex interesting. Sure, if you get rid of all the taboos, you'd have a lot more people having a lot more sex, but it would be much less interesting to write about. It would just be another form of calisthenics; the reason it's more than that is the shame and taboos.

All the best pieces we've published deal with what I refer to as the blush zone. If either the writer or editor loses their ability to blush, then it's boring and they should get out of the business. Appreciating and teasing out the subtleties and complexities of the writer's relationship to internalized taboos and their own sense of shame is the beauty of the exercise. If they can simultaneously throw in some humor and some poignant revelations about the human condition then that's a masterwork. That's the Holy Grail."

Also...

Here's the publisher's description from Chronicle Books:

"Nerve: The First Ten Years -- Way back in the early days of the Internet, Nerve.com challenged the best writers and photographers of the generation to create work that was explicit in both senses of the word: honest and sexy. Now, ten years later, Nerve.com is renowned for its bold and intelligent publishing on sex. This stunning retrospective celebrates Nerve's impact on popular culture with its stimulating essays, interviews, fiction, and photography. Encased in an electric vinyl case, the book is provocative all the way through—with seductive photographs and contributions from celebrated writers such as Jonathan Lethem, Chuck Palahniuk, and Em & Lo on topics ranging from monogamy, to hand jobs, to the best (and worst) sex of a lifetime."