Taylor’s Version: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift

Literary critic Burt (We Are Mermaids) traces Taylor Swift’s musical evolution and contemplates the source of her artistic success in this impressively detailed analysis. Burt traces her musical evolution album by album, beginning with the pastoral twang of Swift’s self-titled country debut, after which she grew lyrically and sonically with the “New York City–based, pop-oriented, pleasure-loving” 1989, the narrative-driven folk of her two pandemic albums, Folklore and Evermore, and the hyperpop anxiety of Midnights. In the process, the author finds the secret to Swift’s success partly in her ability to speak directly to women, and to keep aspirational and relatable qualities in tension—cleverly “turning the accoutrements of fame” (paparazzi, high-profile breakups) “into relatable, empathetic dilemmas” about uncertainty, self-doubt, perfectionism, and heartbreak. Such a style positions Swift as listeners’ “companion, our super-ultra-mega-famous-friend,” even as she lives the kind of megarich lifestyle fans can only dream of. Burt’s close readings of individual songs draw on a host of surprising literary references (she compares Yeats’s use of “pastoral” themes to depict an idyllic past to Swift’s use of country music tropes) and her analyses of the singer’s artistry and success are perceptive. The result is an affectionate fan letter with unexpected depth. (Oct.)