Introducing 'Fifteen Icelandic Swimming Pools'
This month I've released a new book, sort of related to Elska but not exactly. It's called 'Fifteen Icelandic Swimming Pools' aka 'A Gay Guide to Swimming in Iceland' and it's available in a print-only paperback version from the Elska website. I'll tell you a bit more about it here…
Last autumn I started feeling the rumblings of a mental meltdown. It's something that I've come to recognise over the years and usually I've dealt with such breakdowns drastically — quitting a job, ending a relationship, even moving to a new country (I've done this at least six times, no exaggeration). Unfortunately I never have been able to figure out why these occasional meltdowns come, so I can never deal with them at the source. I might have done something crazy this time too, but I actually like my job (Elska), I like where I live (Rhode Island), and I've got no desire for a divorce. But I needed to do something.
I decided to try a mental health holiday. The destination would be a no-brainer — I'd be going to the country that has always given me a sense of peace, Iceland, a place I've visited over thirty times in my life. So I booked a flight, worked my arse off to tie up any upcoming Elska tasks, and flew out. I would be spending a fortnight there without any special itinerary — just reading, drinking coffee, and swimming in the country's wonderful and plentiful local swimming pools. These are an essential component of Icelandic culture, and a rather enticingly homoerotic piece of society as well!
To help my relaxation, and in order to prevent myself from working and encouraging more stress, I left my camera and work laptop at home. At first I felt revived, but after only a few days my urge to create was nagging me. So I decided to challenge myself to visit as many pools as possible, taking snaps on my crappy mobile phone, and scrawling notes old-school on paper. I even ended up doing a very lo-fi nude shoot of a local guy I met in Iceland's northern capital, Akureyri. It didn't stress me out though, it was fun. Maybe work wasn't the cause of my impending breakdown, maybe that's just what my brain does.
At the time I didn't know what, if anything, I'd do with the material. Maybe I'd make a book, maybe I'd put it on some sort of online platform, or maybe nothing. Then when covid-19 happened, knowing I couldn't travel to shoot more Elskas for a while, I took the time to rediscover what I did last November/December and decided to make it into a book.
'Fifteen Icelandic Swimming Pools' is the title of this book. It's 148 pages of snapshots (including that one nude shoot) and expanded diary notes from my trip, with each chapter corresponding to a different pool I visited. Guidebook-like yet queered descriptions of the pools are here, such as how friendly the staff were, how well-equipped the facilities were, or even how hot the men in the showers were. But it's also a confessional into my strange little mind — sometimes dark, sometimes quirky, always honest, even if uncomfortably so.
In fact it's really so personal that I decided not to release an e-version of this book. I just feel like I don't want too many people to actually read this, like they wouldn't understand me, or like they'd judge me. Indeed, the day after I sent it to the printers I freaked out. I've calmed enough since then to release it anyway, but please be kind. Think of this book as me sharing something with you one-on-one, and then let's keep it between us.
Liam Campbell is author of 'Fifteen Icelandic Swimming Pools’ aka ‘A Gay Guide to Swimming in Iceland’ and also editor and chief photographer of Elska Magazine. The new book and Elska issues are all available at elskamagazine.com.
