This book is a delightful read for any fan of poetry, and especially the Swifties out there. Swiftie English teachers, I feel like this one was made for you!

My one piece of feedback is that I wish there had been a list of the songs that inspired the poems in this book. I understand that it’s supposed to be up to everyone’s interpretation, but I think it would’ve added even more to be able to read the poems, then see what song inspired them, and then listen to the song and go back and read the poem again. Sometimes I think I got so caught up in trying to guess what song it was that I didn’t fully take in the poem.

My personal favorites were:
- On the Stairs by Joy Harjo
- Postcard from the Jardin du Palais Royal by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
- Honeycombed and Dangerous by Katie Darby Mullins
- Tempered by Teri Ellen Cross Davis
- Ballroom of Stars by Diane Ackerman
- When You Rise from the Dead, I Drive You to the After Party by Melissa Studdard

I'm a huge Swiftie and also love poetry so I was immediately attracted to this book and am so happy I had the opportunity to read it as an ARC. This was a really lovely collection of poems and I believe it would be so whether you're a Swfitie or not, but all the nods to Taylor's art made it a really beautiful tribute to her work.

But in saying that I think it fell short, I did enjoy it though

I absolutely loved the idea of this book - poets being inspired by Taylor Swift’s incredible songwriting? Yes, please!

The anthology has various forms of poetry, and I for one didn’t even realize there were so many different formats and styles of writing poems. I do wish that somewhere along the way we found out which poems were inspired by which songs, maybe even just at the back of the book so we could check if we wanted to? That would have added to my understanding and enjoyment of the poetry.

I may not have been the correct audience for this one as a Swiftie who loves the lyrics but doesn’t know much about poetry, but I’m sure people in the correct audience will love it!

As a Taylor Swift fan, I was really excited to check out this poetry anthology. What a fun and timely idea! Because T Swift’s resonates with millions and her words are poetry all their own, I was so hopeful to delve into the poems and figure out which song each was related to. Unfortunately, I had no clue. I don’t know if this is just because I don’t Swift hard enough to really get the nuances of all her songs (and probably don’t know nearly enough of them) or if it’s because I’m clueless about poetry. Either way, I don’t consider that a reflection of the poems, that’s truly a me problem. So many of the poems featured here were moving and beautifully written, so even if I didn’t achieve my initial goal in reading this, it was still absolutely worthwhile.

Idea 5 stars. Execution 3 stars. I loved the premise of the book but it just was meh. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

So... I requested this title because I have many Swiftie students and thought it might entice them to read some poetry. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I thought the contributors would be doing more of an homage to Swift's songs/lyrics, as she is a poet herself. But, I found it really tough to make connections - and so did the few with whom I shared some of the poems.
Sorry, for me this was a miss. But, that's not to say there isn't some lovely poetry in the collection. It just wasn't what I was expecting, thus didn't quite fit my purposes.

I'm a huge Swiftie and also love poetry so I was immediately attracted to this book and am so happy I had the opportunity to read it as an ARC. This was a really lovely collection of poems and I believe it would be so whether you're a Swfitie or not, but all the nods to Taylor's art made it a really beautiful tribute to her work.

Setting the scene in the beginning about the creative process was helpful for getting me in the right headspace before reading. I enjoyed the bits at the end where some of the authors talked about their work and added context to their poems.

And the poems themselves? Stunning. Beautiful. Works of art! I loved the clues throughout all the poems and thought each piece was masterfully written. I took my time reading this and engaging with each piece. It was highly enjoyable and creative.

I immediately pre-ordered this and can't wait for my hard copy to get here so I can fill it with sticky notes and read it all again.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballentine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

First, thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy! You know the phrase "it's not you, it's me?" This book was way out of my league. I was so excited for this collection, but my expectations for the book differed greatly from what it was. I expected each piece to be written about/inspired by a specific song. I think this collection will be a wonderful addition to any poetry and Taylor Swift lover. As this was a DNF for me to no fault of the novel, writers or pieces, I did not want to give the book an unfair rating, but settled on three stars due to the rating requirement.

Read the synopsis and thought this book was such a cute idea. In execution though, it was really just meh. Unfortunately I’d rather read Taylor Swift lyrics than these poems

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!!

What a good book! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I loved the main characters! They had great chemistry and worked so well together. I loved how the book just flowed. My first by this author but will not be my last!!!

This is a phenomenal idea. Unfortunately, I am not the FBI level Swiftie intended to read and enjoy this anthology. I thought that being a fan since 2006 and knowing the lyrics to every song would be enough, but I’m just not that invested in uncovering the Easter eggs and hidden meanings. I’m also not the best at analyzing poetry, so I don’t know what I was thinking in the first place. I’m sure that this collection of poems responding to Taylor Swift’s songs will find its correct audience, but it’s not her more casual fans. :( I really wish there was a list of songs that each poet used at the end just to look at if you wanted to, but I understand the editor’s intent on wanting it to be a guessing game sort of thing. Just would’ve made my reading experience better if I could’ve listened to the song and then read the poem!

This is a lovely, inspiring collection of poems that I will certainly incorporate into my class, Taylor Swift and Literature. I very much enjoyed following the threads connecting the poems to Swift's work; even when the poems were hard to connect to a particular song, this difficulty felt intriguing and like it opened the way to thinking about what it means to be inspired by a particular text or writer.

What a fantastic collection of poetry!! This one combines two of my favorite things, poems and Taylor Swift. I loved seeing the little hidden easter eggs and nods to Swift's work throughout this collection. I had only read a handful of the poems before I picked up my phone and pre-ordered a physical copy. I can't wait to have this one on my shelf! Stunning! So many new poets to read too, which I love!

Ahhh I absolutely adored this book, as an OG Swiftie this book mad my soul happy. I had an absolute blast trying to figure out which poems were inspired by which era.

These writers did an amazing job, the poems were phenomenal. This is absolutely beautiful and I highly recommend to anyone who loves poetry, especially if you’re also a Swiftie!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC!

I really wanted to like this because I am a huge Taylor Swift fan and one my favorite parts of her songs are her lyrics, so I was excited to see poems inspired by that. However, this was a hit and a miss for me personally.

This is packed full of poems from fellow swifties and if you’re a fan of her songs, you might be able to figure out which ones they were based on.

Interesting read!

This book was very well written. The commentary regarding Taylor Swift's songwriting style and meaning of the her writing was very informative. I enjoyed it. The poems were unique and great, but they did not blow me away.

Thank you to Random House and Ballantine Books for my gifted copy.

I thought this book of poetry was so fun. We're big fans of Tswift in our house so I was excited to check out some poetry inspired by her songs. I also found the beginning of the book interesting as it talked about how Taylor writes her songs and what inspires her writing.

I loveeeee Taylor Swift. Her writing is some of the most beautiful out there and she’s a lyrical genius. Reading poems inspired by her and her songs was so fun! I’m not always a big poetry person, but I wanted to give this a shot. I’m so glad I did! It was fun to find the connection to particular songs of Taylor and find my own connection with the writing. The poetry was beautiful and moving and I love that someone came up with the idea to create a poetry book out of these. A wonderful and incredibly fun idea!

I loveeeee Taylor Swift. Her writing is some of the most beautiful out there and she’s a lyrical genius. Reading poems inspired by her and her songs was so fun! I’m not always a big poetry person, but I wanted to give this a shot. I’m so glad I did! It was fun to find the connection to particular songs of Taylor and find my own connection with the writing. The poetry was beautiful and moving and I love that someone came up with the idea to create a poetry book out of these. A wonderful and incredibly fun idea!