Why We Swim: A Conversation with Bonnie Tsui & Leanne Shapton

Humans, unlike other animals that are drawn to water, are not natural-born swimmers; we must be taught. As we wade our way through a waterless summer, with pools and beaches closed around the world, we reflect on why swimming is more than just an activity or exercise, but truly an escape into a world below the surface.

Why We Swim is propelled by stories of Olympic champions, a Baghdad swim club that meets in Saddam Hussein’s palace pool, modern-day Japanese samurai swimmers, and even an Icelandic fisherman who improbably survives a wintry six-hour swim after a shipwreck. New York Times contributor Bonnie Tsui, a swimmer herself, dives into the deep, from the San Francisco Bay to the South China Sea, investigating what about water–despite its dangers–seduces us and why we come back to it again and again.

In conversation with Tsui is author, artist, and publisher Leanne Shapton. She is the co-founder of J&L Books, a not-for-profit imprint specializing in art and photography books. Her book Swimming Studies is a fascinating glimpse into the private realms of swimming, and the solitary underwater moments that now ground her artistic habits.

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