Freedom

One encouraging result of the Fall Arts Festival at Oaklake Trails is that one of the artists who attended has decided to make naturism the topic of her research paper in a sociology course. She asked to interview me, so we did, but the tape recorder wasn’t working properly and so I wrote a summaryContinue reading “Freedom”

Threadbare

(A short story, based very-loosely-not-too-tightly on Acts 9:34-42) In the city of Joplin there lived a widow named Dory, who was always doing kind things for others, especially the poor. She was a skilled seamstress, and since the time of her husband’s death, several rooms of her home had been overtaken by bolts of cloth, andContinue reading “Threadbare”

On Act Naturally

“Costume Designer: Madre Naturaleza.” This quick joke, hidden in plain sight among the opening credits of Act Naturally, is just one of the many little jewels in this NDST-friendly film’s treasure chest. Screenwriter and director JP Riley has crafted an all-around terrific film that works so well on so many different levels: it’s a primerContinue reading “On Act Naturally”

Mammals

Feeling mammalian lately? Basic zoology texts tell us that we mammals are warm-blooded vertebrates that possess hair, mammary glands, three middle-ear bones, and a characteristically developed neocortex. Humans, like many mammal species, have sweat glands, specialized teeth, placental births, and dual-fluid penises (yep, you read that right). Page from an early 1970s children’s book on animalsContinue reading “Mammals”

Fall Arts Festival

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } [press release for immediate distribution, from Oaklake Trails Naturist Park] Contact:  OLTNaturistpark@aol.com Tel: 918-324-5999 Dateline: Depew, OK Ever wonder what it would be like to experience the arts au naturel? Now is your chance! Oaklake Trails Naturist Park, located midway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, is hosting the First Annual Fall Arts Festival, Saturday,Continue reading “Fall Arts Festival”

Bodies on the Beach

an original naturist one-act play Copyright Will Forest. Contact me at nudescribe at gmail dot com for performance inquiries. Characters:ANYBODYEVERYBODYNOBODYSOMEBODY(The stage is one long beach, divided into halves marked by a low fence of flimsy plastic and the signs: “NUDE BEACH” on one side and “NUDITY PROHIBITED” on the other. Nothing further distinguishes one half of the beachContinue reading “Bodies on the Beach”

Nude Immersions

I’ve recently read a couple of books related to naturism and nudity, and specifically to the idea of immersion: in water, in nature, in social nudism. Janet Lembke’s Skinny Dipping (University of Virginia Press, 1994) is a collection of essays revolving around the theme of nature and human nature, or as the subtitle says, “andContinue reading “Nude Immersions”

A Clothing Conundrum

Dear reader, I offer a clothing conundrum: When standing in front of the washing machine drum, how do you determine the ins and the outsides of textiles that seem to have too many cloth sides? I’ll help with the laundry. I’ll get the clothes gladly. I’ll wrangle with hangers and fold the clothes badly. But sometimesContinue reading “A Clothing Conundrum”

Disrobing Suspense: Conclusions

This last post presents some concluding remarks culled from follow-up exchanges with the writers I’ve profiled here, followed by an example of my own work. Again, many thanks to fellow writers Grace Crowley, Tom Pine, and Cor van de Sande, whose imaginative works and friendly correspondence are sources of inspiration to me. Special thanks toContinue reading “Disrobing Suspense: Conclusions”