We deserve sexy things, OK? Like simmering in a max-capacity Jacuzzi while eating a dripping watermelon paleta and listening to writer Paige Elkington talk about what happens when you sleep with your celebrity crush.
L.A. descended into the steamy lair of Spa Palace’s pool room for Substack’s sold-out bathhouse literary reading last week, aptly titled “A Night of Desire.” In between hard seltzers and gelato, guests disrobed down to their bathing suits as they engaged in an exercise, or experiment, in intimacy. (All of us trying not to slip on the wet tile and crack our skulls raised the stakes ever so slightly, adding an exhilarating layer of tension.) Over 200 people filled the MacArthur Park space, lining the large pool and hot tubs while whispering over each other’s shoulders, experiencing brief moments of bliss while posing for photos under Spa Palace’s waterfall.
Substack’s sold-out bathhouse literary reading was held at Spa Palace, aptly titled “A Night of Desire.”
A brief moment of bliss while posing for photos under Spa Palace’s waterfall.
This event was the latest of a series of readings in unique locales hosted by Substack, which has included a Wall Street sauna and a century-old church. Writers and performers read pieces that interpreted the theme of “desire.” Brandon Kyle Goodman shared how getting a Brazilian wax — first experienced as a torturous way to please a partner — ultimately became a beloved personal ritual, a direct line of connection with their queerness and themself. Mina Le read a piece about, among other things, neck dysmorphia. Holly Solem about sobriety. The readers, also clad in bathing suits, served as a kind of mirror for our inner selves, standing up there just as stripped and vulnerable, saying the things we usually don’t out loud.
After the reading ended, guests lingered in the humidity, satisfying their desire to stay a little longer.
Writer Liz Plank was one of the evening’s readers.
Writer and editor Meka Boyle.
Over 200 people filled the MacArthur Park space, lining the large pool and hot tubs while whispering over each other’s shoulders.
Fashion and culture writer and editor Viv Chen reads a piece for “Night of Desire.”
Writer and performer Brandon Kyle Goodman.
Substack’s writer relations producer Matt Starr, an artist and poet who helped organize the event, introduced the evening’s readers, including Brandon Kyle Goodman.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
