As a sex poet, you’d think I’ve seen, heard, and written it all. But, no, I have never attended a literary reading in a bathing suit.
That all changed on Saturday, as I made my way down an unassuming flight of stairs off Atlantic Avenue, descending into the fluorescent locker rooms of the newest outpost of Bathhouse, the upscale sauna-and-cold-plunge destination. Inside, the women were in motion–unclasping their jewelry, plucking last-minute hairs, and glossing their lips while incense burned. I joined the ritual, tapping my bracelet-key against the locker and adjusting my red one-piece alongside my girlfriend, dressed in a polka dot bikini.
“Shit, I should’ve gotten a pedicure,” I tell her, suddenly insecure about my uneven polish.
“Take this,” she laughs, holding a super tampon and a bottle of acetone. I use the tampon to wipe off the remainder of red polish on my toes. Now, I’m completely bare. Perfect.
“What else do I need to bring?” I hear a girl ask a few lockers over, putting her hair up in a bun.
“Nothing, girl—it’s a reading,” her friend replies. “Just bring your mind.”
We leave the locker rooms with our towels in tow, walking barefoot into the baths. There, we enter a room with three pulsing oval pools with several glass doors glowing red, leading to heat—anywhere from 117 to 194 degrees at the banya.
The crowd is composed of women and men in their late 20s to mid-30s. Everyone’s in their bathing suits, revealing slick hair and glistening bodies. Some are submerged fully in the thermal pool, some are sitting on the edge, and some are standing in line to the bar equipped with wine, beer, and $7 cans of Spindrifts. The air is hot. I notice thongs are back in, and wish I had opted for something less Baywatch.
Photo: Marcus Maddox
Before I can finish that thought, Camille Sojit Pejcha approaches in a long, sheer cover-up and bathing suit. As a journalist and editor who explores the intersections of sex, culture, nightlife, and technology, Pejcha is in her element as host of The Sauna Salon, which bills itself as New York’s Steamiest Literary Reading. This is the first time she’s held the event at Bathhouse, which has positioned its business as more than just a sauna, but instead as a social space for freedom and exploration.
Pejcha has written about partying with Ottessa Moshfegh at the Hotel Chelsea, reflected on how to have sex in a city apartment, and has trawled Parisian dungeons, erotic brunches, and the open ocean for stories on sex and desire for her bestselling Substack newsletter Pleasure-Seeking, where she writes to over almost 12,000 subscribers.