Sappho on Lesbo #ScintillatingSunday
���Things are in their essence what we choose to make them.
A thing is, according to the mode in which one looks at it.���
Oscar Wilde
Welcome to the Scintillating Sunday blog hop where multiple romance author share 8 paragraphs only of one of their novels.
http://www.milehighmuses.org/sunday-blog-hop.html
Sappho on Lesbo
is a scintillating excerpt from A Harem Boy's Saga - Book II - UNBRIDLED; a memoir by Young
Excerpt:
I burst forth with my forthright question, ���Mary, are you a lesbian?���
Andy was now desperately trying to remedy my bluntness. Mary, taken aback by my unexpected query, answered without a substantiate response. She asked smilingly, ���My dear boy, have you heard of the poet Sappho?���
���In my Greek literature class, my professor did mention Sappho briefly. He said she was one of the great Greek lyrists and among the few known female poets of the ancient world. She came from a wealthy aristocratic family and lived her life in the isle of Lesbos. Is that where Lesbians originated from?��� I asked inquisitively.
My companions burst into another round of hysterical laughter as soon as they heard my question. Mary calmed herself before answering, ���Young, you ask the funniest questions. I���ll do my best to explain. During the 7th century, Lesbos was a cultural center. Sappho was called a lyrist because, as was the custom of the time, she wrote her poems to be accompanied with a lyre.She was one of the first poets to write from the first person point of view; describing love and loss as it affected her personally.���
Oscar chirped in, ���Didn���t Sappho compose her own music and refine the prevailing lyric meter to what is now known as Sapphic meter?���
���Yes, she did; she innovated lyric poetry both in technique and style, thus becoming part of a new wave of Greek lyrists who moved from the gods��� and muses��� perspectives in poetry to more personal poetic voices.
���Her style was sensual and melodic. Hers were primarily songs of love, yearning, and reflection. Many females sought her out for education in the arts, and she showed them affection. She nurtured these women, wrote poems of love and adoration to them. When they eventually left the island to be married, she composed their wedding songs. Sappho's poetry was not condemned in her time for its homoerotic content, although it was disparaged by scholars in later centuries. This suggests that perhaps love between women was not persecuted then as it has been in more recent times. Sappho has become so synonymous with woman-love that two of the most popular words to describe female homosexuality--lesbian and sapphic were derived from her.���
���On our forthcoming Greek island sojourn, I���d like to visit the isle of Lesbos. Since you are so well versed in the history of Sappho, will you join us on our cruise?��� I inquired.
From the back cover
Unbridled is the sequel to Initiation - A provocative story about a young man who was initiated into a clandestine sexual society. He was spirited to the Middle East, from his UK boarding school. He attended the Bahriji School (Oasis,) in The United Arab Emirates in preparation for serving in Harems for the wealthy and elite.
It is also a love story between the young man, his ���Big Brother��� and his ���Valet��� who served as his chaperones and mentors during the boy���s Harem services.
This book follows the teenagers��� erotic and exotic adventures and experiences at their 2nd Arab Household Harem, the Sekham. They were apprentices and models, for the household patriarch���s controversial photography project, ���Sacred Sex in Sacred Places���.
The author's experiences present facts that are truthful. Through these truths, which are often demonized by contemporary societies that deem such behaviors inappropriate, the author hopes to dispel condemnations and negativity which relate to his experiences.
There are 7 volumes in A Harem Boy���s Saga series.
A Harem Boy's Saga - Book II - UNBRIDLED; a memoir by Young
Amazon best selling GLBT memoir for 13 months running.
Email: young@aharemboysaga.com
Website: www.aharemboysaga.com
UK Amazon: http://amzn.to/1DkHC8v
US Amazon: http://amzn.to/1FMlHVY
Shock and awe campaign continues...
By Wendy Acosta
I think these should be named "The Chronicles of a Harem Boy', but unlike the journey to Narnia thru a wardrobe, Unbridled takes me back to the very real world of a male harem as seen thru the eyes of a young man. This love story continues to unfold and grow as Young's relationship with Andy deepens and matures.
Unbridled continues to push, no break, the boundaries of Western Civilization beliefs. A coffee table book called "Sacred Sex in Sacred Places"? Just the name gave me chicken skin. Young's adventures as a gay male mode unveils the religious hypocrisy that has bound and judged too many for too long. I personally hope that the truth revealed here will continue to break the stereotypes that lead to so much fear and hatred in our world.
This book continues the shock and awe started in the first volume, Initiation, pushes all my boundaries and stretches my mind. Most of all it makes me love this young man who is so openly sharing such an intimate part of his life. If nothing else, reading Unbridled once again shows me that the beliefs I grew up with were learned, not innate, and that it's ok to continue growing and learning - no matter how old I am.
Mahalo for entertaining, educating and amazing me!
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