— From Bluets and Autobiography of Red
Bluets, an essay of sorts told through 240 loosely-linked prose poems, is an intricate and dreamlike reading experience. At its core, the writing focuses on the author’s attraction to the color blue, the end of a romantic relationship, and the care of a friend who becomes quadriplegic after an accident. These intensely personal experiences—presented alongside the ideas of other writers, artists, and philosophers—create new ways of thinking about perception and personal suffering.
Justin, Writer in Residence for Adults
— From BluetsSuppose I were to begin by saying that I had fallen in love with a color . . .
A lyrical, philosophical, and often explicit exploration of personal suffering and the limitations of vision and love, as refracted through the color blue. With Bluets, Maggie Nelson has entered the pantheon of brilliant lyric essayists.
Maggie Nelson is the author of numerous books of poetry and nonfiction, including Something Bright, Then Holes (Soft Skull Press, 2007) and Women, the New York School, and Other True Abstractions (University of Iowa Press, 2007). She lives in Los Angeles and teaches at the California Institute of the Arts.