Swimmers #1: Leave of Absence arrives with such a rhythm. I stepped outside the cadence of productivity and began to realize of what till now remained in shadow.

Sure, you can say: nine contributors write from the experience of leave. We know the pain. Work, school, other forms of obligation. But let's not look for an advice or a recovery narrative. Instead, linger. Stay in that uncertain interval. Exhaustion will transform into attention, trust you me.

It is the physical of the book which comes forward. The reversal of the mute relation between the cover and the pages, exposes the fragility, making reading, too, a violent act. Willy-nilly. 

Quiet and beautifully designed - it reminds us that a rest doesn't equal a leftover. Not that we we don't want a book about the latter. 

Edited by: Lisa Tsuchiya 
Illustrations: Jun Yabuki
Design: Yuka Tada 
Writing by:
Minamo, Nobu, Hirata, Shiori, Shizuka, Nozomu, Kazahari, Ume, Lisa
English Translation Support: Ryoya Minami 

See Also 
Berlin's swimming pools.