“Swimming Pool,” written by
Piotr Florczyk, is the latest novel in a
series titled “Object Lessons,” which is
a series that explores ordinary objects,
such as swimming pools, and their
influence in sports, history and/or
culture. This particular piece further
explores how pools have become a place
where people seek to attain the union
between their minds and bodies.
Piotr Florczyk graduated from the
University of California with a Ph.D. and
is now an assistant professor of Global
Literary Studies at the University of
Washington. He recently wrote a book
of poems called “Invisible,” which was
named Autumn 2021 Translation Choice
by Poetry Book Society in the United
Kingdom. His U.S. citizenship began
with a swimming fellowship, as he’s a
former world-ranked swimmer, hence his
interest in writing this new novel.
“Swimming Pool” is a blend of
personal narrative and critical inquiry,
and further explores artists, architects,
writers and others who have helped
solidify a pool’s prominent and iconic
role in our culture in society worldwide.
“Having spent most of my life
around a pool, no one would fault
me taking it for granted,” says Rada
Owen, U.S. Olympic Swim Team, 2000,
in a statement to Bloomsbury. “But
“Swimming Pool” tells a unique and
compelling story of the swimming pool,
allowing me to appreciate that it’s more
than just a place to cool off or go back
and forth along a black line. Florczyk has
done a remarkable job bringing to the
surface the potentially unanticipated way
that pools have affected us, for the good
and the bad.”
Whether a pool is shaped like a
kidney bean and back lit, or is of Olympic
dimensions with perfect gutters and
an ever-present black line, or is a sign
of suburban wealth, or is drained and
abandoned, the ultimate message this
novel is portraying is that swimming
pools are emblems of everything
— from sanctuary, to privilege, to
athleticism, to leisure — when it comes
to a person’s everyday life.
This novel was published in February
2024 by Bloomsbury Academic. It is
available for purchase at a price of $14.95,
ISBN: 9781501394874, and is 120 pages.
Chapters include: 1) Where Do You
Swim?, 2) What Is Your Pool?, 3) Why Do
You Swim? and 4) Who Gets to Swim?