by Victoria Bromley
This summer 2022 edition of Capsule Stories perfectly encompasses Swim Press’ themes as this collection dives into how our bodies interact with water through our physical and emotional reactions.
When we discovered that Capsule Stories’ latest summer edition was titled Swimming, we knew that we had to review this collection. This collection of poetry, flash, and short fiction explores the ways in which we navigate water, enjoy it and find pleasure within the element, but also how it can be a battle, something to overcome. The writing was free flowing, immersive and a pleasure for the senses.
The physical experience of swimming
One of the main themes within this collection is how our bodies physically inhabit water and our reaction to swimming. Through exploration of the senses, this collection discusses the conflicting and multifaceted ways we experience being submerged in a body not our own. It doesn’t shy away from presenting water as something to fear, venturing into a darker tone to show its dangers.
And I would sink as I struggled against the saltwater that attempted, against my flailing, to hold me up
Swimming Lessons by Charlene Stegman Moskal
Yet other stories balance this out by focusing on the strength and power our bodies exert to overcome this. How we build resilience and grow stronger.
She can swim twenty-five meters, taking only a couple breaths as her arms windmill through the water’s surface, her legs kicking to propel her further, faster
Aqua by Kerry Langan
Other pieces find a happy medium between the pleasure and pain that can be found through letting the water take control and to be at the mercy of the elements.
We swim, let our bodies grow pleasantly numb
Mother Superior by Chelsie Kreitzman
Our emotional connection to water
Swimming, which can often be described as a calming and therapeutic experience, allows us to connect our body and soul while honing in on that emotional response to the water. This collection was shaped around how we feel when swimming and the enjoyment that it brings.
We’ve learned to dance through water
wishing we were anywhere but the high school swimming pool by Alejandra Medina
It was also interesting to read about how swimming allows a reflective nature, a peaceful moment with the water to clear your mind. How rhythmic the motion is and how that is something you can’t experience elsewhere.
I was alone in my breathing, my swimming, alone in the pond of my thoughts
Anonymous by Cindy Milwe
Water is greater than ourselves, a presence which is alive
Water was personified at length throughout this collection, it trickled through many of the pieces, and it’s a common tool used to treat the vastness and tenderness of such a fluid and unconfined element, how we reconcile the known and the unknown. The water is a character in itself, something living and breathing.
Water cradles me, amniotic warm
Cradled by Eve Croskery
From our first issue, Water, to Capsule Stories’ issue Swimming, there were many similar moments and ideas reflected in both. The idea that there is a universal and shared connection between us and water, is wonderful. It’s something we can’t escape as it’s a vital part of our body and lives.
Human body weight is 60 percent water, on average; heart, lungs, muscles, and kidneys are more; even bones are watery
Tankas without Walls by Patricia Behrens
Motherhood and vulnerability
It was a pleasant surprise to discover that a common thread through many of the creative pieces was motherhood and the changing, fluid, body. A pool was described as a “womb” in Aqua by Kerry Langan, and this connection between water and birth was so effortless.
Here is my body in all its motherness: uneven and textured, roadmaps of growth and then deflation on my hips
Somewhere Upstate, I Watched My Child Find His Lungs by Belle Gearhart
Many poems and stories explored families together, spending time in water and using this as a place of quality time. Stories looked at how children experience water for the first time and that instinct to swim. It’s that vulnerability and innate knowledge which really shows that water is a native part of growing up and exploring the world.
He loosens his grip on my shoulders, desperate to swim
Always by Eve Crosker
Capsule Stories summer 2022 edition: Swimming, was a plunge into how water is an element we pass through and absorb. Our bodies are made for swimming, for exploring and growing.
To get a copy of this edition, visit Capsule Stories’ website here and find their socials here: twitter & instagram
featured image photos from Capsule Stories’ instagram
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