Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer

On Wednesday evening, Gina Rey Forrest served up sex without lubrication. It was the launch of her third collection of poetry, No Lube: I'm Telling It Like It Is which took place at the Red-Bones Blues Café in New Kingston.

The collection of 12 poems looks at a range of issues surrounding the sexual abuse and objectification of women. She explained that this book was an attempt to give people what they want, but with a twist to it. "No matter what I write or what I perform, people tend to put me in this box - I'm a sensuous poet, I'm a sex poet," Forrest told the audience.

The reputation came from her first collection of poetry, Hot Sweet Chocolate, which provided a steaming pile of verses but also managed to lock her into the sensuous bonds from which she is now trying to escape. No Lube presents her second attempt to escape from that definition.

"I decided sex you want, sex you gonna get - in a way that is gonna make you vex," she told the audience. So though the pieces read at the launch all dealt with sex in some way or another, there was nothing sexy about them.

The pieces were read by Forrest, Duane Francis and LSX. They included Blame Game, No Lube, Out of Season, and Deacon, and as such touched on issues of sex in the church, gang rape, and paedophilia.

The event also featured the soulful stylings of Air Play who delivered Waiting in Vain and their original piece That's the Way. Peter Lloyd was also a musical guest of the evening.

In his job as host, Sage, a member of the group LSX said that Forrest had provided "a beautiful voice" for those who are often voiceless in society. Indeed, Forrest's words may have been without lubrication, but the audience seemed to like its flow. Performing with LSX, Forrest ended the evening with a cry for change with the poem Revolution.

At the end of the night, which proved quick and to the point, Forrest expressed great gratitude for the turn-out. "As usual I was overwhelmed," she said. With that, she eased her third collection into the light, and so it is yet to be seen whether her words can go down without lubrication.