My review of Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic: The Essential Ida Craddock, by Vere Chappell (Weiser, 2010) is up on SpiralNature.com here.

Craddock was indeed a remarkable person, but some of her notions about what was proper are… Well, here’s a quote from her 1900 treatise, “The Wedding Night”:

To approach a woman’s genitals with the finger for the purpose of excitation, is distinctly masturbative, and therefore wrong. The only lawful finger of love at her genitals is his sexual love organ.

It’s almost cute.

Actually, Craddock’s forthright approach to sex was fairly unique for its time, though much of what she wrote seems antiquated today it’s still a fascinating read. Continue reading »

On Friday I posted about Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic: The Essential Ida Craddock, written by Vere Chappell and published by Weiser Books on December 1st, 2010.

Two other titles are also being released around the same time, the first in late October, and the second shortly after the publication of Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic.

Teitan Press recently published Lunar and Sex Worship, which was written by Ida Craddock and includes an introduction by editor Vere Chappell.

From the publisher’s description: Continue reading »

Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic: The Essential Ida Craddock, written by Vere Chappell, with a forward by Mary K. Greer, will be released in December by Weiser Books.

Not just a biography, in Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic the author has compiled  “the most extensive collection of Craddock’s work including original essays, diary excerpts, and suicide letters”.

The keywords associated with this book are hot: “Sex, Magick, Aleister Crowley, Orgasms, Erotic Dances, Angelic Beings, Revolutionary Activism, Liberation, Persecution, Defiance, and Suicide.” Intense.

From the book’s description on the publisher’s website: Continue reading »