Bluets

     The form of Bluets allows Maggie Nelson to freely convey the information she wants to the reader, without making or breaking any commitment. The numbered propositions free her from having to work transitions in between ideas, or setting up information that explains the background. For example, when she begins to reference a character as “you,” it is unclear who she is addressing, or whether they are a real person of a more abstract “you” until bluet #18. Once the thought is completed, Nelson starts a new proposition that may have nothing to do with the last, which breaks the reader from getting dwelling on the details. The impressions and tone of the propositions matter a lot more than any plot or detail. A more traditional form would leave the writer confused if that information was left out, but the propositions allow the reader to accept the statement that is presented and move on.

     This form works very well with her use of first person and intensely personal details in her writing. More traditional writing styles feel like the thoughts of the author are contained within the form of the writing, but this gives more of an impression that she wrote her thoughts and the form followed. After I read this for a while, I felt like I had gotten into her mindset and empathized with her more.

     I imagine that this book was written one or two bluets at a time, as the author was living the emotions that she was writing down. It feels almost like a journal where she is recording her thoughts. It maybe could have been written in larger chunks, or all in one sitting, but I do feel like she was genuinely experiencing her emotions as she wrote them. It did not feel like she had recorded the emotions earlier or planned out how she was going to write them down. I did get the impression that she planned her word choice and thought about a lot of the words carefully to make sure that they sounded somewhat poetic and conveyed her feelings accuracy. At many points in the book, she criticizes word choice on the part of others, and says that certain words that people use do not accurately describe blue or emotions. I think she was very deliberate about her own words.

From her writing, I get the impression that Maggie Nelson is a somewhat impulsive person rather than a planner. She also seems emotional, and analyzes her own feelings while still accepting them for what they are and having a sense of humor. All of the other people that she mentions in the book seem similar to herself, in that they are emotional and can have discussions about personal things. I imagine that she is the type who can open up deeply to close friends, and does that with the reader as well through her writing.