The Sauna at Twelve-Foot

book review

The Sauna at Twelve-Foot is a collection of poems and stories capturing the Finnish-American experience of yesteryear. In its pages, Marlene Mattila Stoehr describes a world that has mostly vanished—a way of life marked by reused coffee cans, family farms, manual labor, and transatlantic voyages. Though many of these cultural elements have faded, it is good that they’ve been documented. They serve not just as history, but as a map to treasures that we can reclaim.

Contrary to what the title might suggest, The Sauna at Twelve-Foot is not primarily about the Finnish steam bath (see the table of contents below). It features stories of rural life, aging, death, and heritage. But, of course, sauna is bound to feature prominently in any telling of Finnish-Americana. You won’t find many technical details like prescribed temperature ranges or cold-plunge schematics, but its humble shack saunas, built with inexpensive pine wood, are just as important for students of sauna. The picture presented is more than just a sterile health practice or high-end spa treatment. It provides the public sauna discourse with much-needed heart and soul that is rooted in a people, Finns, and their place, Finland, the U.P., and northern Minnesota. See the following poem, “Bath Night at the Petersons,” for an example of robust sauna practice grounded in generations of cultural tradition.

Get a copy of the book to read the titular poem ‘The Sauna at Twelve-Foot’. More information at River Box Press. https://riverboxpress.com/books.html