Share

From this page you can share Haunts of the Black Masseur to a social bookmarking site or email a link to the page.
Social WebE-mail

Thank you for spreading the word about Narrative Magazine.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 10 recipients
(Your Name) has forwarded a page from Narrative Magazine

(Your Name) thought you would enjoy this story from Narrative Magazine.

Haunts of the Black Masseur

The Swimmer as Hero

by Charles Sprawson
(Nonfiction; Penguin, 1992)


According to its publisher, Haunts of the Black Masseur falls into the genre of “sports literature,” and indeed, this strange, magnetic little book can be most simply described as a cultural history of swimming. But the reader quickly realizes that she must put aside her mental images of high school swim meets and crowded August beachfronts; the author’s interests lie elsewhere. For Charles Sprawson and his heroes, swimming is beyond sport: it is obsession and danger, it is purpose and mystery, it is pleasure and compulsion.

Please log in to view or print the full story online or in PDF format.
If you are new to Narrative, signing up is FREE and easy.