Inside the Sauna Salon, Pleasure-Seeking’s wet n’ wild reading
Wet denim and missed connections: A dispatch from Bathhouse
When you think of a bathhouse, do you picture a peaceful sanctuary—or a bustling social hub, where half-naked strangers gossip, flirt, and imbibe? Pleasure-Seeking’s late-night takeover of Bathhouse Atlantic Ave was definitely the latter. But it actually wasn’t my idea. There’s a long history of bathhouses serving as social spaces; in Ancient Rome, for example, some even housed libraries or played host to performers, entertainers, and orators. “Imagine every kind of sound that can make one weary of one’s ears,” grumbled the philosopher Seneca about living above the noisy bathhouse.
It’s fitting, then, that the last two readings of the night were love poems from the ancient Roman poet Sulpicia—translated and read by Caroline Calloway—and my piece on the etiquette of having loud sex in NYC apartments, inspired by my own neighborly noise dispute.
Earlier, eliza mclamb read a story about a woman who channels her annoyance toward her coworker into sexual domination. Grace Byron read fiction about a woman who falls in love with a serial killer. Magdalene J. Taylor shared a dispatch on Love Island and straight dating culture, and Tony Tulathimutte—a forensic (and twisted) chronicler of sexual rejection—read an unpublished piece about a man going to great lengths to indulge his fetish for being “bored and ignored.” In a similar spirit, Noelle Perdue wrote about the wet denim fetish, plunging into the pool fully clothed and reading in soaked jeans to illustrate a point about unconventional desires.
With so many hotties drinking and flirting in the pool, I honestly worried the readings would be a buzzkill; I myself have ADHD, and New York Magazine’s scene report on The Sauna Salon quotes me as saying I “tune the fuck out” during literary events (sorry). But to the contrary, everyone was locked in. Maybe it’s the tactile experience of being in the water; the ability to make eye contact with strangers and friends as a reader delivers a particular punchline; or the sensory embodiment of going from sauna to cold plunge, but the crowd was fun, flirty, and focused.
The event was covered in Vogue, New York Magazine, and Page Six—and doing these interviews gave me a reason to reflect on what made it so special. The answer is, well, you guys: the 150 ticket-holders who made this possible by supporting Pleasure-Seeking, telling their friends, and showing up with the right energy. In the crowd, I saw people who were willing to put themselves out there, not take themselves too seriously, and push the boundaries of their social world for one wild, hot, and steamy night.
I think saunas are inherently sexy because they force us to let our guard down, sweating it out with bare faces, frizzy hair, and naked bodies. And between the mood-lighting, trip-hop playlist, and a healthy helping of beer and wine, there was a romantic vibe in the air. I even heard some people had meet-cutes, but left their phones in the locker room—so if you had a missed connection, message it to me at this ANONYMOUS FORM and I’ll play matchmaker (or just tell me how you experienced the night.)
Here’s one example, sent to me by a hopeful Pleasure-Seeker:
After the readings, the porn performer Small Hands—who covered the event for Dirty Magazine—asked me why I’d throw a reading in such an unexpected location. I answered honestly, saying that a lot of literary readings are stuffy, and when you write about desire, you should share it in a setting that fits the theme. Moreover, as Sarah Sturek writes, New York’s social world can feel closed-off—but events like this provide an alternative and an ice-breaker that makes it nearly impossible not to make friends. “The element of wearing bathing suits and having no phones removes barriers and just makes it so much easier to talk to people,” Celina Reboyras told Vogue.
It also makes it easier to do more than talk. As Katie Rex wrote, “bodies melted into each other” as the night went on, and people were definitely making out in the pool—some so fervently that they accidentally kicked me while I was posing for a photo nearby (good for you!)
Thank you for making the night so much fun—I’m planning to share a full photo album with everyone who attended, and I’ll be back to you with some new writing in the coming days!
XOXO,
Camille
