Wet, the magazine of ‘gourmet bathing,’ returns

Some people have their best ideas in the shower. Leonard Koren’s brainchild was inspired by the bath. (Not necessarily his own.)

Back in the late seventies in southern California, he started taking pictures of people while they were bathing. That gave way to a whole magazine dedicated to ‘bath art.’ Wet was what he called it, and for eight years, it celebrated everything having to do with the essential element of water.

Wet lasted for six years, with contributions that poured in from all around the globe. (There’s even an early Matt Groening cartoon.) Now, you don’t have to scour thrift shops to see the old issues. Koren (who escaped southern California years ago and now lives up in the splendor of

Pt. Reyes without a bathtub) has published a book that celebrates the wondrous design, photography and writing that comprised Wet.

We talked to him about it in advance of its

official release next week. (Warning: if you have to ask what “gourmet bathing” is, you may not understand.)