The Argonauts

The Argonauts is a book by poet and critic Maggie Nelson, published in 2015. It mixes philosophical theory with memoir.^[1] The book discusses her romantic relationship with the transgender artist Harry Dodge leading to her pregnancy as well as topics ranging from the death of a parent, transgender embodiment, academia, familial relationships, and the limitations of language.^[2] Nelson also explores and criticizes ideas from several philosophers including Gilles Deleuze, Judith Butler and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick.^[3] The title is a reference to Roland Barthes' idea that to love someone is similar to an Argonaut who constantly replaces parts of their ship without the ship changing names.^[4] The book won a National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism for books published in 2015.^[5]

The Argonauts

Author	Maggie Nelson
Genre	Autotheory
Publisher	Graywolf Press
Publication date	2015
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
Pages	160
ISBN	1555977073

This article is about the book by Maggie Nelson. For the mythological heroes, see Argonauts. For other uses, see Argonaut (disambiguation).

Reception

According to Book Marks, the book received "rave" reviews based on fourteen critic reviews with eleven being "rave" and three being "positive".^[6] On Bookmarks September/October 2015 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (4.0 out of 5) from based on critic reviews with a critical summary saying, "The Argonauts, "a loose yet intricate tapestry of memoir, criticism and gentle polemic [and] a magnificent achievement of thought, care and art" (Los Angeles Times), should interest readers of all kinds".^[7][8]

References

1. Als, Hilton (April 11, 2016). "Maggie Nelson's Many Selves". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
2. Fontenot, Andrea (July 13, 2015). "Unpacking Maggie Nelson's 'The Argonauts'". KCET. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
3. Marcus, Sara (April 30, 2015). "Review: An intimate look at a fluid family in Maggie Nelson's 'The Argonauts'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
4. Feigel, Lara (March 27, 2016). "The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson review – a radical approach to genre and gender". The Guardian. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
5. Dean, Michelle (March 18, 2016). "Margo Jefferson and Maggie Nelson win National Book Critics Circle Awards". The Guardian. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
6. "The Argonauts". Book Marks. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
7. "The Argonauts". Bookmarks. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
8. "The Argonauts". Bibliosurf (in French). 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2023-10-04.