The Sex of Art was Frances Presley’s first collection, from 1985. Although much of it has reappeared in other guises, in Paravane and also in Shearsman’s own Myne (2006), the entire book has not been republished and its structure – mixing prose and poetry freely – is unclear if one does not see as it was originally conceived. This edition gives the work a little more air than in the original – avoiding run-on texts – but is otherwise unchanged.