{"id":5429,"date":"2024-10-31T10:19:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T14:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/?p=5429"},"modified":"2025-09-28T15:43:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T19:43:23","slug":"now-ive-read-all-the-books-beside-your-bed-books-literature-and-taylor-swift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/2024\/10\/31\/now-ive-read-all-the-books-beside-your-bed-books-literature-and-taylor-swift\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cNow I\u2019ve read all the books beside your bed:\u201d Books, Literature, and Taylor Swift"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cNow I\u2019ve read all the books beside your bed:\u201d Books, Literature, and Taylor Swift<\/h1>\n\n
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Alyssa Ollier<\/a><\/div>\n\n
in <\/span>Features<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Open<\/a><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no secret that the cultural zeitgeist is currently saturated with Taylor Swift, from her massively successful Eras Tour<\/em> to her relationship with football star Travis Kelce. Their swoon-worthy romance seems ripped straight from the pages of a novel (or even fanfiction). But Swift is not only living a literary story \u2014 it appears she\u2019s rather well-read herself. References to classic literature, explorations of the concepts of authorship and readership, and the aesthetics of books and bookishness can all be found throughout Swift\u2019s body of work. In this way, her music provides a space where her fans can engage with literary ideas, which in turn embeds these ideas into pop culture at large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Literary References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since she made her debut in 2006 with her first single \u201cTim McGraw,\u201d Taylor Swift has often been accused of \u201conly writing songs about her ex-boyfriends.\u201d Not only is this factually untrue (she has written songs on topics as varied as the COVID-19 pandemic, her grandmother\u2019s legacy, and her mother\u2019s battle with cancer), it is also a criticism leveled primarily at female artists. As Swift pointed out in a 2014 interview, \u201cNo one says that about Ed Sheeran. No one says that about Bruno Mars. They\u2019re all writing songs about their exes, their current girlfriends, their love life, and no one raises the red flag there.\u201d[i]<\/sup> Yet even in her more romance-centric songs, Swift reveals herself to be a sophisticated wordsmith who utilizes carefully crafted literary references to convey particular emotions in her music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the very beginning of her career, Swift has played with well-known allusions, such as her remix of Romeo and Juliet<\/em> in \u201cLove Story\u201d or her use of Alice in Wonderland<\/em> imagery in 1989<\/em>\u2019s \u201cWonderland.\u201d She uses ideas and turns of phrase from other works so often that several helpful listicles take the time to spell them out for curious fans.[ii]<\/sup> Her references on her pandemic and post-pandemic albums (folkore<\/em>, evermore<\/em>, Midnights<\/em>, and The Tortured Poets Department<\/em>), however, have achieved an unprecedented level of intertextuality.[iii]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is due, in part, to Swift\u2019s extensive reading during lockdown. In an interview with Rolling Stone<\/em> in 2020 she revealed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I definitely relate to needing to find magical things in this very not-magical time, needing to read more books\u2026[During the pandemic] I was reading, you know, books like Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier, which I highly recommend, and books that dealt with times past, a world that doesn\u2019t exist anymore.<\/em>[iv]<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In addition to themes from Rebecca<\/em> (which fans might notice in songs like evermore<\/em>\u2019s \u201ctolerate it\u201d), lines from The Great Gatsby<\/em> by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Sun Also Rises<\/em> by Ernest Hemingway have also found their way into lyrics on these albums. \u201cI hope she\u2019ll be a beautiful fool \/ who takes my spot next to you,\u201d[v]<\/sup> she writes in \u201chappiness\u201d, a song from evermore<\/em> that explores the mixture of joy and sorrow that accompanies the ending of a relationship. This line, which expresses that the only defense against pain is ignorance of what could transpire, echoes Daisy\u2019s wistful wish for her daughter in Gatsby<\/em>: \u201cI hope she\u2019ll be a fool\u2014that\u2019s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.\u201d[vi]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swift\u2019s Hemingway line, on the other hand, takes the original meaning and inverts it to express something new. \u201cAnd isn\u2019t it just so pretty to think \/ All along there was some \/ invisible string \/ tying you to me?\u201d goes the chorus in folklore<\/em>\u2019s \u201cinvisible string.\u201d[vii]<\/sup> While Jake Barnes\u2019 question to his would-be lover in The Sun Also Rises<\/em>, \u201cIsn\u2019t it pretty to think so?,\u201d[viii]<\/sup> is one of dejected hopelessness, Swift is expressing childlike wonder at the way her life has become entwined with that of her significant other. This wordplay both reveals that Taylor Swift has most likely read several works from the literary canon and also gives these works new life in the center of current pop culture as millions of people listen to these songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dear Reader<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Adult fiction is not the only category of work being given the Taylor Swift treatment in recent years. Themes from works of children\u2019s literature, such as Peter Pan<\/em>, The Secret Garden<\/em>, and The Little Princess<\/em> have shown up in songs like \u201cPeter,\u201d \u201cI Hate It Here,\u201d and \u201cseven,\u201d respectively. These references are particularly appealing to Swift\u2019s fans, primarily young women, who grew up with those stories. In this way, Taylor Swift\u2019s fan base bears a resemblance to what scholar Nina Baym calls \u201cthe two great classes of novel readers,\u201d historically speaking, i.e., \u201cthe young and the female.\u201d[ix]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These \u201cSwifties,\u201d as they like to style themselves, too often become cultural punch lines on account of their youth, gender, and general exuberance, and their love for Swift is maligned as \u201cvapid, and shallow, and silly.\u201d[x]<\/sup> It is difficult not to see the similarities between modern-day criticism of these fans and the 19th-century anxieties stirred up by women reading novels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swift herself seems to understand the role her fans play as \u201creaders,\u201d not just as consumers of music. She devotes an entire track to this concept on her album Midnights<\/em>, fittingly titled \u201cDear Reader,\u201d in which she addresses the listener directly and offers advice. In another track, \u201cThe Manuscript\u201d from The Tortured Poets Department<\/em>, she reflects on another past relationship: \u201cThe only thing that\u2019s left is the manuscript \/ One last souvenir from my trip to your shores \/ Now and then, I reread the manuscript \/ But the story isn\u2019t mine anymore.\u201d[xi]<\/sup> This line acknowledges the essential role the listener\/reader plays in giving a song meaning. As the artist book How Books Work<\/em> puts it, \u201cA book starts with an idea and ends with a reader. The reader brings the book into existence. Reading is uncoding. The reader deciphers and unpacks.\u201d[xii]<\/sup> By engaging with the text of her songs, working out real-life references, metaphors, and allusions, and applying them to their own lives, Swift\u2019s listeners become readers, and Swift herself becomes the author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a scene from her short film All Too Well<\/em>, Swift depicts this relationship literally onscreen. She plays an author who has written a book entitled \u201cAll Too Well\u201d which is meant to represent the song of the same name which forms the basis of the film. A shot of her reading from her book is intercut with a shot of an audience made up of young women listening intently to her every word. By choosing this frame story for her film, Taylor Swift demonstrates an understanding of the author\/reader dynamic that exists between herself and her fans. As the author, Swift provides an opportunity for her fans to participate in the very act of creating her art through their \u201cuncoding,\u201d \u201cdeciphering,\u201d and \u201cunpacking,\u201d and to explore what it truly means to be a \u201creader.\u201d Hint: it\u2019s the polar opposite of vapid, shallow, and silly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Screenshot<\/a>
Screenshot from All Too Well: The Short Film<\/em> depicting Taylor as \u201cthe author.\u201d[xiii]<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Screenshot<\/a>
Screenshot from All Too Well: The Short Film<\/em> depicting Taylor Swift\u2019s \u201creaders.\u201d[xiv]<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bookish Aesthetic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Taylor Swift\u2019s readers can decipher anything \u2014 from the pattern formed by her Instagram grid to the color and texture of the clothes she wears in paparazzi photos \u2014 but the most common subjects of this reading are the distinct \u201ceras\u201d into which she divides her discography. Each era typically accompanies an album and embodies a particular aesthetic: cowboy boots\/yellow\/sparkles (Fearless<\/em>); snakeskin\/black and red\/leather (reputuation<\/em>); cardigans\/grey and white\/braids (folklore<\/em>), etc. These differentiated aesthetics form the basis of Swift\u2019s Eras Tour<\/em>, as well as a large portion of Swift\u2019s merchandise, marketing, and fan-created products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some elements of \u201cnerdiness\u201d have been incorporated into previous eras (think the bespectacled protagonist of the You Belong With Me<\/em> music video), none have been more saturated with books and reading than Swift\u2019s most recent era: The Tortured Poets Department <\/em>(TTPD<\/em>). With an expanded album entitled \u201cThe Anthology,\u201d how could it not be? Even before the album was released, the bookish character of the era was clear. In mid-April 2024, Spotify hosted a pop-up teaser display in Los Angeles that imagined TTPD <\/em>as a literal library, complete with bookshelves, knick-knacks, and even the sliding ladder of every bibliophile\u2019s dreams. At the center of the display was a large card catalog cabinet with several drawers pulled out. While using a fake library to advertise an album with the word \u201cpoet\u201d in the title is an obvious choice, this pop-up is significant for the conversations it inspired among Swifties and the public at large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"The<\/a>
The Spotify Tortured Poets Department<\/em> pop-up library in Los Angeles, April 2024.[xv]<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amidst the feverish debates about the symbolism of the pulled-out drawers, several people misidentified them as mailboxes. Much to the chagrin of many a librarian, a large number of young people have never seen a card catalog in use, nor do they have an understanding of how it functions. However, the aesthetic choices made by Swift and her team for the TTPD<\/em> era resulted in a larger discussion of historical library infrastructure online, enmeshing those topics into the current discourse (at least for a time).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/a>
A Tweet illustrating online discussion of card catalogs by Taylor Swift fans.[xvi]<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Tortured Poets Department<\/em> era also participates in what Amaranth Borsuk calls the \u201cfetishiz[ation]\u201d of \u201cthe aesthetic of bookness.\u201d[xvii]<\/sup> Disembodied elements of books find their way into Swift\u2019s music videos, her costumes, and her merchandise (both official and fan-made). As she grasps a book entitled \u201cUs\u201d while surrounded by reams of white pages or wears a dress emblazoned with the lyrics of the song she is currently singing, Swift is using these aesthetics to advertise herself and her music. She is the book, and she invites her audience to see what she has to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her fans themselves are also enamored with the \u201caesthetic of bookness.\u201d Taylor Swift\u2019s official store offers TTPD<\/em> notepads, leather-bound journals, a fountain pen, and even at one time an exclusive metal bookmark.[xviii]<\/sup> Unofficially, fans are creating T-shirts, stickers, clothing, and artwork related to reading, books, and the \u201cbookish\u201d aesthetic. The author of this article, in fact, was partially inspired to write about this topic when she was gifted a book-themed Taylor Swift T-shirt. This \u201ccommodification of the book object,\u201d is, of course, nothing new, but it is occurring on a much larger scale due to Swift\u2019s enormous popularity.[xix]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/a>
A screenshot from the \u201cFortnight\u201d music video from TTPD, depicting Taylor Swift holding a book.[xx]<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a>
A screenshot from Taylor Swift\u2019s Instagram depicting her in a white dress covered in writing, one of her Eras Tour<\/em> costumes for the Tortured Poets Department<\/em> set.[xxi]<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe book,\u201d writes Amaranth Borsuk, \u201chas been transmuted into an idea and ideal based on the role it plays in culture.\u201d[xxii]<\/sup> The same could be said for Taylor Swift. She is no longer just a musician, or even just a celebrity. She plays a large role in the lives of her fans and has achieved almost mythic status globally. Therefore, Swift\u2019s use of the idea of the book (through her lyrics, her relationship with her fans, and her aesthetic choices) represents a significant opportunity to spread this idea to a large portion of mainstream culture and to inspire new conversations about what it really means to be a reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[i]<\/sup> Eliana Dockterman, \u201cTaylor Swift Calls Critics of Her Songs About Exes \u2018Sexist.\u2019\u201d Time<\/em>, October 20, 2014, https:\/\/time.com\/3524641\/taylor-swift-feminism-critics-sexist\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[ii]<\/sup> Eliza Thompson, \u201cTaylor Swift\u2019s Literary References: From Debut to TTPD.\u201d Us Weekly<\/em>, April 19, 2024. https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/entertainment\/news\/taylor-swifts-literary-references-before-tortured-poets-department\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[i<\/sup><\/a>i<\/sup>i]<\/sup><\/a> I am by no means the first or the only one to point this out. In fact, a scholarly monograph examining Swift\u2019s intertextuality is set to be published by Bloomsbury in just a few weeks: https:\/\/www.bloomsbury.com\/us\/literary-taylor-swift-9798765104538\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[iv]<\/sup> Patrick Doyle, Mary McCartney, Grace Guppy, Pedro Faria, and Alexander Brunacci, \u201cMusicians on Musicians: Taylor Swift & Paul McCartney.\u201d Rolling Stone<\/em>, November 13, 2020, https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/paul-mccartney-taylor-swift-musicians-on-musicians-1089058\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[v]<\/sup> \u201cTaylor Swift \u2013 \u200bhappiness Lyrics,\u201d Genius<\/em>, https:\/\/genius.com\/Taylor-swift-happiness-lyrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[vi]<\/sup> F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby <\/em>(New York: Charles Scribner\u2019s Sons, 2004), 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[vii]<\/sup> \u201cTaylor Swift \u2013 \u200binvisible string Lyrics,\u201d Genius<\/em>, https:\/\/genius.com\/Taylor-swift-invisible-string-lyrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[viii]<\/sup> Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises<\/em> (New York: Charles Scribner\u2019s Sons, 1926), https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/cache\/epub\/67138\/pg67138-images.html.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[ix]<\/sup> Nina Baym, \u201cNovel Readers and Novel Reading,\u201d in Novels, Readers, and Reviewers: Responses to Fiction in Antebellum America<\/em> (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1984), 50, http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/10.7591\/j.ctt2204nx9.6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[x]<\/sup> Piers Morgan Uncensored, \u201c\u2018He Diagnoses The Problems Correctly\u2019 Matt Walsh On Andrew Tate & More,\u201d YouTube video, 31:07, https:\/\/youtu.be\/Cs3UbPAIptI?si=yfQ7HsoNnVA6TZSI&t=435.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xi]<\/sup> \u201cTaylor Swift \u2013 The Manuscript Lyrics,\u201d Genius<\/em>, https:\/\/genius.com\/Taylor-swift-the-manuscript-lyrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xii]<\/sup> Julie Chen and Clifton Meador, How Books Work<\/em> (Oakland: Flying Fish Press, 2011), 9-16, https:\/\/flyingfishpress.com\/portfolio-item\/how-books-work\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xiii]<\/sup> Taylor Swift, \u201cTaylor Swift \u2013 All Too Well: The Short Film,\u201d YouTube video, 14:55, https:\/\/youtu.be\/tollGa3S0o8?si=0ylZH9rqqny_ruDC&t=743.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xiv]<\/sup> Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xv]<\/sup> Alyssa Bailey, \u201cInside Taylor Swift\u2019s \u2018Tortured Poets\u2019 Spotify Pop-Up Library.\u201d ELLE<\/em>, April 16, 2024. https:\/\/www.elle.com\/culture\/music\/g60503898\/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-spotify-pop-up-library-photos\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xvi]<\/sup> @perfectlyfine89, \u201cHelp I love senior Swifties but I posted a TikTok calling these mailboxes and I\u2019m yelled at like 362938x that it\u2019s the Dewey decimal system\/card catalog,\u201d Tweet, posted April 16, 2024, https:\/\/x.com\/perfectlyfine89\/status\/1780354468485222607.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xvii]<\/sup> Amaranth Borsuk, The Book <\/em>(Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018), 113.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xviii]<\/sup> \u201cThe Tortured Poets Department Shop,\u201d Taylor Swift<\/em>, https:\/\/store.taylorswift.com\/collections\/the-tortured-poets-department-shop<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xix]<\/sup> Borsuk, 113.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xx]<\/sup> Taylor Swift, \u201cTaylor Swift \u2013 Fortnight (feat. Post Malone) (Official Music Video),\u201d YouTube video, 4:09, https:\/\/youtu.be\/q3zqJs7JUCQ?si=EZ6qaGm4180YHMJF&t=118.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xxi]<\/sup> @taylorswift, \u201cWOW. MILAN.,\u201d Instagram post, July 15, 2024, https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C9c3Mo1uFd2\/?img_index=9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[xxii]<\/sup> Borsuk, 194.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that the cultural zeitgeist is currently saturated with Taylor Swift, from her massively successful Eras Tour to her relationship with football star Travis Kelce. Their swoon-worthy romance seems ripped straight from the pages of a novel (or even fanfiction). But Swift is not only living a literary story \u2014 it appears she\u2019s rather well-read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"wp-custom-template-post-template-features","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1994],"tags":[1949,1954],"class_list":["post-5429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-popular-culture","tag-reading-readership"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5429"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5885,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5429\/revisions\/5885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}