25/09/2023

The Argonauts - Maggie Nelson🏡

Last weekend, I went to a literary festival in Utrecht for a book discussion with none other than Maggie Nelson! As always, she had a very thoughtful yet open perspective on all kinds of current topics. For this occasion, I created my own book cover.

Maggie Nelson's autotheoretical narrative style appeals to me, as my visual work is, to some extent, autofictional. I enjoy observing the world with wide eyes and capturing various subjects, which eventually come together as a whole (with my own experiences indirectly playing a role). In The Argonauts, Nelson doesn’t shy away from any topic. She brings all these juicy elements together in this book, so it can almost be seen as a sort of refrigerator—the keeper and canvas for her thoughts and experiences (also a nod to the domesticity discussed in the book).

The beginning of this book was discussed last school year during my philosophy class, and it struck me so much that I borrowed it from the library and devoured it. Now finally, I made my own copy!

✷ Genre: contemporary literature, philosophy, autotheory

✷ Themes: motherhood, (queer) family life, gender and sexuality

✷ Recommended? Absolutely! Despite the philosophical nature of this book, it’s accessible, as much of the text is grounded in the author’s reality.