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A Self-Published Erotica Collection is Among Gifts Sent to De Blasio

By Nicole Levy | September 24, 2015 3:49pm
 The cover of a self-published collection of erotic fiction, poetry, drama and visual art sent to Mayor de Blasio
The cover of a self-published collection of erotic fiction, poetry, drama and visual art sent to Mayor de Blasio
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Amazon

Just how big is Bill de Blasio's library?

The mayor has received a considerable number of books since he took office in January 2014, according to a list of mayoral gifts obtained by DNAinfo New York.

Among them is a self-published collection of erotic fiction, poetry, drama and visual art received Jan. 27, 2014 and sent by its author, Andrew Dazz. 

"Whips and Lips Café" opens with an eponymous short story following the lives of five women who work at a strip club in New York City, where Dazz, in his prologue, says he's lived and shown his play, "In Between Zones." (DNAInfo could find no record of such a production online.)

"Striking, profound, and exciting, Whips and Lips Café is a delicious taste of the forbidden outrageous world of the New York City underground," reads the blurb on the book's back cover. 

The author couldn't be reached, despite multiple attempts, for comment. 

Dazz published "Whips and Lips Café" through the Indiana-based self-publishing company Xlibris in 2011, according to the book's copyright page.

The paperback's sole, but glowing review on Amazon.com was posted by the illustrator of its sexually suggestive front and back covers, Salvador Vega. 

As for what happened to de Blasio's copy of "Whips and Lips Café" after the Mayor's Office Correspondence Unit logged it, the world may never know. Did de Blasio ever read the melancholy tale of Ayesha, the exotic dancer who "specializes in dancing with a white snake" and commits suicide by jumping off the ledge of her balcony? 

De Blasio's press secretary Karen Hinton has previously told DNAinfo New York that, "Like all mayors, Mayor de Blasio receives gifts from many people. He doesn’t have time to see all of the gifts but he appreciates them."

Dazz is far from the only author to send de Blasio a copy of his book. Joining him in those ranks are the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin, the jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, and spiritual guru Deepak Chopra.