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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
challenging
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
I think I love Maggie Nelson.
I read a review of this collection that said it was disjointed, and another that said the artists/authors were too obscure and so, being unfamiliar with their work, it was difficult to enjoy these essays and interviews. I disagree: they are interconnected by simple virtue of being ecstatically about art; and reading about these artists made me want to consume their work (or, it made me certain I did NOT want to consume their work, and equally satisfying outcome).
Much of it was over my head, but Nelson's writing is as accessible as any theory, any criticism, any philosophy can be. I will devour whatever else of hers comes my way, and I cannot wait.
I read a review of this collection that said it was disjointed, and another that said the artists/authors were too obscure and so, being unfamiliar with their work, it was difficult to enjoy these essays and interviews. I disagree: they are interconnected by simple virtue of being ecstatically about art; and reading about these artists made me want to consume their work (or, it made me certain I did NOT want to consume their work, and equally satisfying outcome).
Much of it was over my head, but Nelson's writing is as accessible as any theory, any criticism, any philosophy can be. I will devour whatever else of hers comes my way, and I cannot wait.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
I was very kindly offered the opportunity of reading an advanced copy of Like Love by the publisher through Netgalley. I had never read a book by Maggie Nelson but recognized her from some essays and book reviews so I jumped at the chance. Another point I must make before actually reviewing the book is that this comes from someone who does not know some of the people or art referenced in a lot of the texts.
Like Love is an anthology of many of Maggie Nelson's essays and conversations with people from the world of art. I don't think there was one I didn't find at least interesting or informative, even those whose original subject I didn't previously know of, because the ideas brought forth are always relevant and understandable. Maggie Nelson seems to be not only very knowledgeable and cultured, but also a good conversationalist and quite capable of commenting and cross-referencing while keeping it clear.
Out of all the pieces, I'd highlight:
"Almost There" on Eve Sedgwick's The Weather in Proust - which left me convinced I'd get a lot out of reading Sedgwick, be it for her work on queer theory, be it for her compassion and generosity that Nelson focuses on by the end;
"Beyond All Change" On Ben Lerner's 10:04 - which sent this and two other of his books to my wishlist;
"From Importunate to Meretricious, With Love" - a conversation with Brian Blanchfield that gives a great insight into Nelson's thought and writing processes;
"If I Didn't Tell It" On Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst's Relationship - including relevant thoughts on gender, sexuality and self-perspective;
"A Life, A Face, A Gaze" - a conversation with Moyra Davey that explores the concept of shame and relates it to Karl Ove Knausgaard's works in such a poignant way;
"Like Love" - a tribute to Hilton Als;
"A Continuity, Imagined" - a conversation (at once personal and eulogistic, serious and humoristic) with Björk that left a smile on my face as I read it;
"At Girò's" - on rereading Natalia Ginzburg's Winter in the Abruzzi at the start of a pandemic;
"The Longest Road" - a conversation with Jacqueline Rose that starts with Sylvia Plath, goes through Me Too, trans-exclusionary radical feminism, resurgent fascism, hyperalertness, and how to live and write in today's world;
"This Living Hand, Or, My Hervé Guibert" - which left me feeling I must read To the Friend Who Did Not Save My Life;
"I Just Want to Know What Else Might Be Available" - a conversation with Simone White going from sex and morality to the ethics of care and finally shame;
"My Brilliant Friend" - On Lhasa de Sela and one of the most complex elegiac texts I ever read;
"The Call" In Honour of Judith Butler - a revisitation and highlighting of a thinker who has a profound insight into the times she lives in;
"For Who Knows How Long" - on Ari Marcopoulos's Zines;
"And With Trees" - a conversation with Eileen Myles that left me in awe, which was a great way to finish the book.
All of this being said, I'm left with a very important question: which of Maggie Nelson's books should I read now?
Like Love is an anthology of many of Maggie Nelson's essays and conversations with people from the world of art. I don't think there was one I didn't find at least interesting or informative, even those whose original subject I didn't previously know of, because the ideas brought forth are always relevant and understandable. Maggie Nelson seems to be not only very knowledgeable and cultured, but also a good conversationalist and quite capable of commenting and cross-referencing while keeping it clear.
Out of all the pieces, I'd highlight:
"Almost There" on Eve Sedgwick's The Weather in Proust - which left me convinced I'd get a lot out of reading Sedgwick, be it for her work on queer theory, be it for her compassion and generosity that Nelson focuses on by the end;
"Beyond All Change" On Ben Lerner's 10:04 - which sent this and two other of his books to my wishlist;
"From Importunate to Meretricious, With Love" - a conversation with Brian Blanchfield that gives a great insight into Nelson's thought and writing processes;
"If I Didn't Tell It" On Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst's Relationship - including relevant thoughts on gender, sexuality and self-perspective;
"A Life, A Face, A Gaze" - a conversation with Moyra Davey that explores the concept of shame and relates it to Karl Ove Knausgaard's works in such a poignant way;
"Like Love" - a tribute to Hilton Als;
"A Continuity, Imagined" - a conversation (at once personal and eulogistic, serious and humoristic) with Björk that left a smile on my face as I read it;
"At Girò's" - on rereading Natalia Ginzburg's Winter in the Abruzzi at the start of a pandemic;
"The Longest Road" - a conversation with Jacqueline Rose that starts with Sylvia Plath, goes through Me Too, trans-exclusionary radical feminism, resurgent fascism, hyperalertness, and how to live and write in today's world;
"This Living Hand, Or, My Hervé Guibert" - which left me feeling I must read To the Friend Who Did Not Save My Life;
"I Just Want to Know What Else Might Be Available" - a conversation with Simone White going from sex and morality to the ethics of care and finally shame;
"My Brilliant Friend" - On Lhasa de Sela and one of the most complex elegiac texts I ever read;
"The Call" In Honour of Judith Butler - a revisitation and highlighting of a thinker who has a profound insight into the times she lives in;
"For Who Knows How Long" - on Ari Marcopoulos's Zines;
"And With Trees" - a conversation with Eileen Myles that left me in awe, which was a great way to finish the book.
All of this being said, I'm left with a very important question: which of Maggie Nelson's books should I read now?
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A fascinating collection of essays and transcribed conversations of art, literature, and writing. The book has so much to recommend:
1) The author has read and observed art widely and so one of the exciting things from the group of essays was finding so many exciting leads of future reads, works that I was unfamiliar with sadly. On the immediate pile to read: Judith Butler's Precarious Life and Herve Guibert's To the Friend Who Did Not Save My Life;
2) The author's open and honest and exploring heart and mind felt like it opened mine up a bit just by listening to these essays. There is an emotional and intellectual honest to these essays that is a nice antidote to a world where bravado, satire, and sarcasm rule.
3) Many of these essays have to do with queer theory and feminist theory, domains I could benefit from learning more. Nelson provides a safe space in grappling with issues raised by these scholars, a space I very much appreciated.
1) The author has read and observed art widely and so one of the exciting things from the group of essays was finding so many exciting leads of future reads, works that I was unfamiliar with sadly. On the immediate pile to read: Judith Butler's Precarious Life and Herve Guibert's To the Friend Who Did Not Save My Life;
2) The author's open and honest and exploring heart and mind felt like it opened mine up a bit just by listening to these essays. There is an emotional and intellectual honest to these essays that is a nice antidote to a world where bravado, satire, and sarcasm rule.
3) Many of these essays have to do with queer theory and feminist theory, domains I could benefit from learning more. Nelson provides a safe space in grappling with issues raised by these scholars, a space I very much appreciated.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
As the title suggests, Like Love: Essays and Conversations by Maggie Nelson is a collection of essays and conversations comprised of enthusiastic exchanges between friends and detailed critical responses to various forms of art, both physical and digital, loved and cherished by its author. Throughout her collection, Maggie Nelson invites the reader into her most intimate conversations where the art she has consumed takes center stage and provides a “fly-on-the-wall” experience for its audience. In her conversations, a verbal performance of working through it, Nelson suggests to readers that our genius is comprised of others by reminding us, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.”
While her prose is precise and critical, it is equally personal, honest, unfiltered, and refreshing—an intimacy only found when one sorts through her more polished language with careful hands. Her numerous references to books, poetry, essays, and performances can be disorienting to a reader unfamiliar with the works mentioned, but her emotional responses to these forms of media ground the reader in her world of philosophy and intense analysis. Not only do these vulnerable moments exist as hidden gems throughout this collection of conversations, but Nelson reminds the reader to take their time in discovering these moments by repeating the importance of “taking [the] ride” (Nelson 65) with a writer, sorting through the more advanced language in their narrative for relatable affairs of connection.
If you love Literature and Literary Theory, this is the book for you.
While her prose is precise and critical, it is equally personal, honest, unfiltered, and refreshing—an intimacy only found when one sorts through her more polished language with careful hands. Her numerous references to books, poetry, essays, and performances can be disorienting to a reader unfamiliar with the works mentioned, but her emotional responses to these forms of media ground the reader in her world of philosophy and intense analysis. Not only do these vulnerable moments exist as hidden gems throughout this collection of conversations, but Nelson reminds the reader to take their time in discovering these moments by repeating the importance of “taking [the] ride” (Nelson 65) with a writer, sorting through the more advanced language in their narrative for relatable affairs of connection.
If you love Literature and Literary Theory, this is the book for you.
Didn't read the entire book. Highlight was Björk and Maggie Nelson's fangirl letters to each other and the essay on Judith Butler
Super mixed bag, a lot extremely dry/felt forced, collecting a totality of things brings in a lot never intended for human consumption, at least not outside its original context