A bit of an odd approach to a book, but would be inspiring for an imaginative, creative crowd I suppose.

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

I really enjoyed this book of poetry. Admittedly, poetry is not what I typically gravitate towards but as a huge Taylor Swift fan my curiosity was piqued. It was a fun added personal challenge to see if I could guess the inspiration behind each poem. Some were easier than others for me and I appreciated the variation. The poems themselves were well-written and often very moving. This collection of poems is one I've enjoyed more than most poetry.

It's easy to dismiss Taylor Swift as lightweight pop, but her lyrics are full of literary merit and her fans spend hours poring over them. Those same fans will enjoy this poetry anthology, which is considerably more complex than the popular Instagram poets aimed at teens. This will be a high school purchase.

What a wonderful collection to add to the Taylor swift fan guide. It really gets across her importance while also highlighting so many other talented writers and poets. Definitely a recommendation to any swift fans who read.

I love this smart collection by a broad range of poets responding to Taylor Swift songs. While some of the poems are light, no one's taking this as a joke or a hoax--the poems are serious and thoughtful and dazzling. It's a great collection even for readers who don't know anything about Swift or her music--the poems can easily stand on their own, testifying to strength and capability and independence and grappling with sorrow and fear and failure as well as joy and achievement. This is the must-get for every Swiftie on your shopping list and can be an introduction to feminist poetry for Swifties and non-Swifties alike. Go revel in these words!

I'm so excited for this one! I loved all of the poems so much.

My favorite was If I Could Tell Her What I Know Now by Tess Taylor.

The Cento at the end was so cool also!
I really enjoyed everyone's poems.

I don't normally like poetry, but I like some of Swift's music, so I thought this might be a good entry-point.

Nope.

There was virtually nothing worth reading in this collection.

There was quite a lot of profanity, including the f-word; lots of poems glorifying sex, including homosexual relationships; and God is referred to as a woman a few times.

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of poems. I'm a firm believer that poetry is interpreted differently by individuals, so what I took from the poems may be different than what was intended. All I know is that they resembled Taylor Swift's lyrical 'feel'. You felt connected and seen in the messy emotions of humanity.
I didn't figure out which poems were in response to which songs, I would love it if that 'cheat sheet' was included at the very end. I definitely recognized some lyrics and words associate with T. Swift, so that was fun to find.
Swiftie or not, I highly recommend reading Invisible Strings - it was simply beautiful.

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine for my eArc in exchange for an honest review!

LOVE taylor swift and adore this take on her songs. The forward itself was so incredibly packed with info and beautifully written. Def recommend for any swiftie out there who loves literature and all things language.

Invisible Strings

This poetry collection sees 113 poets interpreting Taylor Swift songs into poems. The only catch is, it doesn’t say who is interpreting which song.

This collection is so perfect for Swifties and poetry lovers alike. Reading each poem and trying to decipher which song inspired it was a super fun game that I’m sure I got wrong more than right. Serious Swifties will surely be better at this!

My favorite of the collection was If I Could Tell Her What I Know Now by Tess Taylor. I also really loved Oceans Apart by Leah Umansky.

I think this will be a perfect holiday gift for Swifties and poetry lovers this holiday season!

As a Swiftie and a Language Arts teacher, I felt that this book was made for me. I loved analyzing the poems and finding the invisible string back to Taylor. So much fun!!!

I really liked some of the poems in here and even got some chills! Overall some of the magic was lost for me as I couldn’t see the relation between all of the poems and the Taylor Swift discography. It would have been nice to have it revealed what poem related to what song/era, although the die-hard swifties might like the mystery and figuring out all the easter eggs!! (

I typically love poetry collections, because I love writing poetry myself. When I saw this collection was in response to Taylor Swift songs I was so excited to read it. Taylor Swift is such a great lyricist, and many of her songs are poems themselves, allowing the reader/listener to gain so much from what she has to say and use it to self-reflect. However, I was let down by the poems that were included in this collection. There were some I connected with and some lines that I absolutely loved. But the majority did not seem like they were connected to Taylor Swift songs at all. The wide range in styles of poetry also made it difficult to enjoy the overall message. I appreciate everyone has their own style and way of writing, and their own experiences and feelings to draw from. But for an anthology like this, I feel like there needs to be a bigger connection between contributors. I think the largest critique I have is that the editor wanted the reader to guess which song each poem was a response to, but a lot of them were not extremely clear about the song. I think listing what song each poem was a response to would be great addition, because it would help the reader get into the mind frame of what the poem is about, whether it be in response to a love song or a break up song, and from what point in Swift's career on how her opinion had shifted as she got older. I think that would have made the collection a bit more enjoyable, especially considering its marketing is purely based on Taylor Swift songs and geared towards fans of her music.

I received an advance copy for review. This is my own opinion.

I love the process of reading and picking poetry apart to find the bones buried beneath the words, though I rarely seek out poetry in written form. The lyrics of Swift’s music are where I do most of my poetic annotating these days. This poetry collection reflects the inspiration we find in one woman’s music, the way a turn of phrase can send you back a decade or rip you to shreds in memory.

Going through this collection as both a Swiftie and an English major was the best kind of complement to poring of lyric books for hidden messages. Get out your glitter gel pens (or quills or fountain pens 😉) because you’re going to want to annotate this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the arc.

My favorite was alice, tumbling.

This Swiftie saw the title and immediately hoped that this was a book somehow related to Miss Swift and her talents. I was overjoyed to see that it was!

While poetry is not my preferred reading, there was something really special about reading this whole collection and feeling tethered to the authors through Taylor Swift. Just like Swift's lyricism, these poets have a way of making you smile, punching you in the gut, and helping you appreciate the small things in life (often all at the same time).

I love the sense of community that was shared within these pages. And the Easter egg lyrics sprinkled into many of the poems didn't hurt, either.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love seeing how one love of mine can be mixed with a new found love of mine. These poems were beautiful

This is a book for fans of poetry, specifically contemporary poetry but also Taylor Swift. That's it to say, if you are not a Swiftie but like poetry then you might like this one just not understand the Easter eggs. That's right, just like Swift's proclivities of dropping clues and breadcrumbs for fans, all of the included poets do the same. Some of the references are more obvious than others (that New Year's Day reference was crystal-clear) while others are more subtle based on a lyric or a message of a song. None of these interpretations are on-the-nose, but more nuanced and subtle allusions. It's, to put it simply, an ode to Taylor Swift and her superb songwriting skills. It was also interesting to read a conclusion paragraph about how each song (though never mentioned) inspired certain poetry themes.

I can’t say I’m a fan of written poetry but I am a fan of Taylor Swift. I loved reading the poems and seeing how poets were inspired by Taylor’s music to create their own art.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this book. The title is what drew my attention and I thought I would love it. I discovered that reading poetry is really not my thing. There were some beautiful poems but I quickly realized I didn’t enjoy trying to figure out what song the poem was about or the order, or clues. I’m sure others will love it,

Great for people who not only Taylor but also her music and her lyrics. I am not usually a poetry person but I really enjoyed this.