Interview with Ernesto Sarezale, "the Naked Poet"

Paul Burston at Time Out London checked in with "Naked Poet" Ernesto Sarezale, who runs the literary salon Velvet Tongue, "a quarterly literary soireé dedicated to erotic writing and performance."

From the article:

'For many years, I had been thinking that there was a niche for this kind of soirée,' explains Sarezale. 'I wasn't aware of any other event like this in London, apart from an erotic reading group that gathers monthly to discuss erotic books. Also, I'd had experience in organising queer poetry nights, which I quite enjoyed. But I wanted to try out something more “polysexual” and varied, including not only performance poetry but also other literary forms. Other events have also inspired me - Polari and other literary salons in London. But Velvet Tongue is closer to an event called Perverts Put Out, in San Francisco. It normally coincides with the Folsom Street Fair in September, and gives voice to alternative sexualities and lifestyles.'

Sarezale is often referred to as 'the naked poet' and has performed in his birthday suit at various venues, including the RVT and the Southbank Centre, where he caused quite a stir. When did he first perform naked, and what possessed him? 'My first naked performance was in October 2000 at a private event, an S&M-themed arty party in a Georgian mansion in Birmingham! My first public naked performance was one year later, at a fundraiser for Queeruption in a gay pub in south London. Soon after that I found myself standing naked on the Duckie stage, performing some of my poems in front of a rowdy audience. Why do I do it? The list of personal, artistic and ideological reasons behind this decision would take forever to explain. But I can genuinely say that I do not do it as a gimmick or as an easy way of getting attention. Easy, it isn't!'

Are you scared? Don't be!

He's aware, of course, that one man's dream is another man's worst nightmare. So what should a newcomer to Velvet Tongue expect? 'If you are there as a member of the audience, the opportunity to hear the stimulating and diverse voices of people from all walks of life dealing with intimate aspects of their sexuality. If you are a writer or performer, the opportunity to present your own erotically themed material at one of the open-mic slots. To ensure quality literary standards, I always invite three or more guest performers whose work I am familiar with and who I know are going to deliver something exciting and worth listening to.'

Is there a lot of nudity? 'Yes. At least among the performers. At the past two events, there's been a great deal of flesh exposed, including full frontal, both male and female.' Should potential performers be afraid? He laughs. 'No! They should be excited at the prospect of performing in front of a warm, open-minded and receptive audience.'

Perverts Put Out, whom Sarezale references above, can be found here.