I'm not a big reader of poetry, but as a Swiftie I couldn't pass up reading this anthology. The idea is super unique. 113 poets responded to the lyrics of Taylor Swift, writing about their own experiences with Taylor’s songs. But each poem only alludes to a song, without using direct lyrics. The idea is, upon close reading of each poem, to find Easter eggs to figure out which song it is in response to.

The perfect reader of this anthology is a Swiftie who is great at identifying Easter eggs and who also is really good and experienced with reading poetry. I didn't quite fit that mold.

As an inexperienced poetry reader (the last time I did close readings of poems was college 10+ years ago), I had a hard time identifying the songs each poem was in response to. I really enjoyed reading a lot of the poems, they were beautiful, and I did find some clues here and there, but for the most part I had a hard time connecting them to songs. I know the spirit of the anthology is to look for clues and guess, but I would have loved an index or something in the back that said the songs that inspired each poem for reference.

Despite that, I did enjoy a lot of the poems. I may not have made the connections to songs, but the poems themselves were lovely to read. There were a few I didn't personally connect with, but many others that were delightful, emotional, and/or heartbreaking.

Overall, I love the concept of the anthology. Taylor Swift truly is a poet in her own right and making the connection between her songs and contemporary poetry is brilliant. I probably was not the ideal reader, but for those in the right niche, I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Random House for sending me an early copy to review!

Thank you so much to Random House for sending me this ARC. Once again, can I send you all an edible arrangement? You’re the best.

I love reading poetry. But, tragically, I am TERRIBLE at reading poetry. I can find metaphors and imagery in a novel no problem. I know why the car is yellow! The curtains are blue for a reason! But put it in poetry format and I lose all that ability.

So when I was sent this ARC for Taylor Swift inspired poetry, I knew I finally found poetry I’d be able to understand. I may not speak poet, but I speak Swiftie fluently. Even with the poems I could not assign a song to, I could understand the emotion behind because it’s the emotion found in my favorite songs.

If you’re a Swiftie, this anthology will be a fun time of trying to decode lyrics and see what song they’re alluding to. But this is still very readable if you’re not a Swiftie but just a poetry fan. I, as someone who’s had Taylor in her top 5 artists on Spotify Wrapped for the last decade, could not place the majority of the poems here for their specific songs. But they were still wonderful poems discussing all sorts of concepts from the struggles of being a woman, to breakups, to anxiety.

Even if you cannot find your favorite lyrics in this anthology, you’re likely to find yourself. And isn’t that even better?

It was truly the honor of a lifetime to receive not one, but two emails to review this book about Taylor Swift and poetry. I think that her lyrics correspond so well with the contemporary poetry scene and are in and of themselves poetry in many ways. It was magnificent to get to see so many poets that I admire and read their words about this.

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

What a fun read this was. I'm sitting here just in awe of some of these absolutely beautifully written poems, like wow. They got me thinking and feeling and I enjoyed a good portion of them. It was fun in the sense of me trying to figure out which Taylor Swift song was which poem. Some were easier to decipher than others, so I do wish it would have told me. I love Taylor Swifts songs and the way she writes her lyrics is poetry in itself. It was fascinating to read more how see writes her songs and how these poets interpret the lyrics for their own poems. Overall a very good poetry book that's not just for Taylor Swift fans. They're not blatantly Swift poems so you can enjoy them easily even if you're not a fan.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Swiftie. I just enjoy poetry. This book was intriguing so I was excited to give it a try. Even without being super familiar with Taylor Swift's songs, I enjoyed the poems.

“Invisible Strings” is a collection of 113 poems inspired by Taylor Swift songs. I’ve been a fan of Taylor Swift since debut and I’ve been trying to get more into poetry, so this book felt perfect for me!

Like with any anthology, there were poems that I really loved and others that weren’t for me.
One thing I really enjoyed about this collection is that there is a section at the end where each author talks about their poem and the process behind it. As someone who has just started reading poetry, I found that this made it much easier to try to understand the poems.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the advanced copy of this book!
Pub date: 12/03/24

So turns out that maybe I don't like poetry and I just like Taylor Swift...either that or I just lacked the poetic knowledge to fully grasp it all.

I was really intrigued by this book as a avid Swiftie. I thought the concept sounded super interesting and different than any other book out there. I was even more into it after reading the Introduction setting up how the book came to be. It was filled with examples of Taylor's hidden easter eggs and how she pulls from poetry history.

And while I fully understand the 'easter egg' hunt game that appeals to the Swiftie realm, I think that not knowing which songs inspired each poem was a miss. When she has 274 songs, that have very similar connections - it was difficult to draw the comparisons.

As someone who requested this for her love of Taylor, in hopes to gain a better appreciation for other poetry - it was honestly hard to decipher all the poems. I was thinking too hard about what song it could be about vs really digesting the poem and appreciating it.

I don't want to give this a bad rating as it would be a disservice to the poets that gave their time and poured their feelings into their pieces. Maybe I can appreciate it more when/if the super sleuth fans determine the song to poem breakdown...

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for providing me the ARC for this book.

3.5 rounded to 4 stars. I enjoyed this overall, and enjoyed people’s take on the emotions and feelings that Taylor’s songs gave them to drive their poetry. I enjoyed the last section where they talked more about why they wrote the poems and the feelings behind it.

I enjoyed this book. I really liked the concept of having multiple people come together and do an anthology of poetry. My one critic is that I felt like this was a little too long. I think this could have been done in two smaller collections or volumes.

While I am a certified Swiftie and English Literature major, I found this book to be a bit challenging and dense at times. It’s been enjoyable to read and I’ve liked trying to guess the song.

Thank you Kristie Frederick Daugherty and Netgalley, for the e-arc. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

This was a quick and fast read. I really enjoyed reading this and seeing all the easter eggs and nods to Swift's music. If you are a Swiftie, this is a must read!

...Are you ready for it?
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC from Netgalley, thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity!!
I am a Swifte and a poetry lover so of course this was a must read for me! It is beautifully written and full of fun easter eggs that will keep Swifties eager to figure out which song it is based on!
This is perfect for Swiftes and poetry enthusiasts and just in time for the holidays!
An enchanting read that will leave readers knowing each poem all too well!

As a hardcore Taylor swift fan, I absolutely loved this book! All of these poems are so perfect. I loved how they each went with a different song. This is the perfect book for Swifties!

I really enjoyed this book and will be purchasing it for my library. Even if you’re not familiar with Taylor Swift songs the poems stand on their own. I feel that teachers could create fun and engaging activities using this book and I personally want to revisit it to see if I can pair the poem to some of the songs. I’m not going to lie, I definitely got stumped on a few. I hope to see this book take off on Booktok and have fellow Swifties dig into the poems.

I forgot how much I truly enjoy poems until I deep dived into this book. Taylor Swift is very much the modern day Bob Dylan with her words and weaving the tapestry of her stories together. I loved reading each poem that was inspired by Swift.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy!

This is a great book for anyone who loves poetry and enjoys Taylor Swift’s magical lyrics. I wanted to take my time with this book and ended up devouring it in a couple of days.

Invisible Strings is an anthology that masterfully intertwines poetry with the evocative lyrics of Taylor Swift. Each poem is a reflection and conversation with Swift's work, offering fresh perspectives and profound insights. It's also a fun adventure for fans to figure out which song relates to each poem.

What a fun concept! These poems are bursting with emotion, and I just adore the premise and the way execution of all these poets coming together with the inspiration of Taylor Swift, and it was fun to try and guess what songs inspired the poems

This anthology had me feeling all the feelings. Through every poem I could feel the authors emotions pouring through. I am Swiftie at heart and these poems were a beautiful addition to her music.

I did not receive any compensation for this review of an advance reader copy.

All Swifties will like this! I was enthralled with the poems and thought the anthology was a creative undertaking. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.