On Freedom

Four Songs of Care and Constraint

Maggie Nelson

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English

JONATHAN CAPE
31 August 2021

Popular philosophy; Society & Social Sciences; Political control & freedoms; The environment

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"An expansive, exhilarating work of nonfiction on freedom, by one of the most significant writers of our day
*A GUARDIAN 'BOOKS OF 2021' PICK
*

'One of the most electrifying writers at work in America today, among the sharpest and most supple thinkers of her generation' - Olivia Laing

So often deployed as a jingoistic, even menacing rallying cry, or limited by a focus on passing moments of liberation, the rhetoric of freedom both rouses and repels. Does it remain key to our autonomy, justice, and well-being, or is freedom's long star turn coming to a close? Does a continued obsession with the term enliven and emancipate, or reflect a deepening nihilism (or both)? On Freedom examines such questions by tracing the concept's complexities in four distinct realms- art, sex, drugs, and climate.

Drawing on a vast range of material, from critical theory to pop culture to the intimacies and plain exchanges of daily life, Nelson explores how we might think, experience, or talk about freedom in ways responsive to the conditions of our day. Her abiding interest lies in ongoing ""practices of freedom"" by which we negotiate our interrelation with-indeed, our inseparability from-others, with all the care and constraint that relation entails, while accepting difference and conflict as integral to our communion.

For Nelson, thinking publicly through the knots in our culture-from recent art world debates to the turbulent legacies of sexual liberation, from the painful paradoxes of addiction to the lure of despair in the face of the climate crisis-is itself a practice of freedom, a means of forging fortitude, courage, and company. On Freedom is an invigorating, essential book for challenging times."

By: Maggie Nelson
Imprint: JONATHAN CAPE
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 402g
ISBN: 9781787333741
ISBN 10: 1787333744
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 31 August 2021
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active