NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift has released her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
But just how poetic is it? Is it even possible to close read lyrics like poems, divorced from their source material?
The Associated Press spoke to four experts to assess how Swift’s latest album stacks up to poetry.
Allison Adair, a professor who teaches poetry and other literary forms at Boston College, says yes.
“My personal opinion is that if someone writes poems and considers themself a poet, then they’re a poet,” she says. “And Swift has demonstrated that she takes it pretty seriously. She’s mentioned (Pablo) Neruda in her work before, she has an allusion to (William) Wordsworth, she cites Emily Dickinson as one of her influences.”
She also said her students told her Swift’s B-sides — not her radio singles — tend to be her most poetic, which is true of poets, too. “Their most well-known poems are the ones that people lock into the most, that are the clearest, and in a way, don’t always have the mystery of poetry.”
We meet again: Hurricanes and Islanders reunite to open NHL playoffs for 2nd straight year
Chinese companies set new digging record in tunnelling projects in Nepal
Chinese companies set new digging record in tunnelling projects in Nepal
3 U.S. big tech giants face EU inquiry
Atlanta or Afghanistan? Wild shootout breaks out at gas station with one gunman wielding an AK
China's booming online audio and video industry tops 1 billion users
Stock market mulls future as IPOs slow
Xinhe County in Hebei promotes handmade dried noodles to raise income
South Africa man convicted in deaths of 2 Alaska Native women faces revocation of U.S. citizenship
China biggest contributor of green technologies: WIPO chief