The Tortured Poets Department, Part II
Crossing the finish line three months later
Taylor Swift thrives in an environment of abundance. Her lyrics excel in excess. Her emotions blossom in hyperbole. Her signature diaristic writing style relies on magnifying the mundane and giving importance to the typically passed over. Her feelings are forces of nature. Her worlds are overdramatic and true.
In a Taylor Swift song, details matter. Dresses soaked by rain. Scarves forgotten in drawers. Dates on a calendar. Times on a clock. A beat too long to form an answer, obfuscating the truth in the response. Taylor Swift normalises the oversharing of information. And, lately, the overflow of creativity - made clear by the productive streak she’s been on since 2020, releasing eight albums in 4 years.
Poets, in contrast, breathe in brevity. The goal is saying a lot with little. The challenge is to condense, condense, condense.
I am neither Taylor nor poet. So here is 8,000 more words on TTPD including:
Initial critical response to The Anthology
Has Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff reached their creative limit?
My personal track-by-track breakdown of The Anthology (Tracks 17-31)
1️⃣ Part I: This is Part II of my Tortured Poets review. For Part I, click below.
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