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The Argonauts

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The Argonauts
The 2016 paperback cover of The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
AuthorMaggie Nelson
LanguageEnglish
GenreAutotheory
PublisherGraywolf Press
Publication date
May 5, 2015
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Pages160
Award2015 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism
ISBN1555977073

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 and her experience being pregnant with her son Iggy, as well as topics like the death of a parent, transgender embodiment, academia, familial relationships, and the limitations of language.[2] Told in non-chronological vignettes interspersed with quotations, 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 in 2015.[5][6][7][8] It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for autobiography in 2015, the Folio Prize in 2017,[9] and was a finalist for the The Leslie Feinberg Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature in 2016.[10][11]

References

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  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. ^ "Nelson '94 Receives National Book Critics Circle Award for Argonauts". Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  7. ^ "Maggie Nelson Wins National Book Critics Circle Award". 24700. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  8. ^ "The Argonauts | Graywolf Press". www.graywolfpress.org. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  9. ^ Cain, Sian (2017-04-06). "Folio prize returns with nonfiction joining novels on the 2017 shortlist". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  10. ^ "The Leslie Feinberg Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature". The Publishing Triangle. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  11. ^ Abi-Karam, Andrea (2016-04-22). "Nathanaël Wins Publishing Triangle Award for Trans & Gender Variant Literature". Nightboat Books. Retrieved 2025-05-17.