Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Women, the New York School, and Other True Abstractions | 2007 | Maggie Nelson | Buy |
| 2 | The Red Parts | 2007 | Maggie Nelson | Buy |
| 3 | The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning | 2011 | Maggie Nelson | Buy |
| 4 | The Argonauts | 2015 | Maggie Nelson | Buy |
| 5 | On Freedom: Four Songs of Care and Constraint | 2021 | Maggie Nelson | Buy |
| 6 | Like Love: Essays and Conversations | 2024 | Maggie Nelson | Buy |
| 7 | The Slicks: On Sylvia Plath and Taylor Swift | 2025 | Maggie Nelson | Buy |
Maggie Nelson’s nonfiction spans literary criticism, memoir, philosophy, and cultural theory. Her earlier works like Women, the New York School, and Other True Abstractions (2007) are more academic, while The Red Parts (2007) is a gripping personal narrative about the cold case reopening of her aunt’s murder. The Art of Cruelty (2011) examines depictions of violence in contemporary art.
The Argonauts (2015) brought Nelson to a much wider audience, mixing queer theory with intimate memoir. On Freedom (2021) and Like Love (2024) continue her exploration of how art, politics, and personal life intersect. The Slicks (2025), on Sylvia Plath and Taylor Swift, is her most recent.