Kate, an update! I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, more TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists including Zelda Fitzgerald (whom FSF stole work from)! TTPD is never going to be figured out by only one person.
Wow, girl you have a theory! I do not know Swift or Plath well enough to know all these references (years since I read The Bell Jar) but was fun to follow you putting it all together. I want to believe!! Def one of the most fun TTPD reads I’ve had, well done.
Lane, an update! I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, more TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists including Zelda Fitzgerald (whom FSF stole work from)!
This is too good!! Thank you for the update, it is so much fun. You have found a kindred spirit! We are starting a feminist reading group and we might do The Bell Jar First--if so I hope you'll join us. I will be watching for clues !
You might also enjoy Red Comet the Sylvia Plath bio that I've heard is really really good.
Alexandra, an update! I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists including Zelda Fitzgerald (whom FSF stole work from)!
Thank you!! I've now found a few other women online who are investigating the commonalities with Plath, and I ordered the book of Plath's letters, it's so fascinating!!
I genuinely think you're on to something with this! I have a sonic take adjacent to this but I'm still gathering my thoughts of how to articulate how the album is for those of us who came of age in the 2000s listening to alt-indie-pop-rock, etc. In my mind, Taylor has a vision board of all of this. And I was 100% this girl in my teens and 20s lusting over arty indie boys, reading The Bell Jar and studying English Lit., and poring over Leonard Cohen lyrics. I think this album is for the literary folks who aren't into paternity testing her art.
YES!!! There is an interview in which Swift talks about wondering "how far out" she could plan, 3 years, 5 years? You know she has a vision board that looks like she's been tracking a serial killer for 20 years; it's well known she loves true crime!! LOL She said "one of" her inspirations for the song Florida!!! was how people commit crime then run away to Florida to "bury the bodies", and I think about how that relates to writers who have gone to Florida to bury their emotional and metaphorical bodies.
Perfect phrase, "paternity testing her art"!! It's unbelievably sexist.
I would LOVE to read your theory when you're ready to share, tag me!!
This is totally it re: the planning. And also because I think she's a very galaxy brain person while also being completely immersed in both the art she engages with + the art she makes. Anyone I've ever met, including lecturers I've had and friends in the arts, really talk about burrowing into allusions and references as you create + engage. I feel like she's not getting the credit for that in the work. With all of this in mind, when will we get her to lift the veil on the entire creative process??? I want to see the vision board and have her deliver the past mortem on the work!!!
I love what you've said about Florida!!! and I love the song. It's so cool and my immediate thought was that it felt like an allusion to the magic realism/meta-reality of the movie Adaptation...which is based on a NYT article/subsequent book!
I will share when I get it written. I've got so much to say...clearly 😅
Oh I went and read the Reputation prologue again, it gave me chillsss!!! Thank you for linking it! I completely forgot what she said, it is so on point, this is an overarching philosophy in her work!! 🙌🏻
Aoife, an update! I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, more TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists!!
Omg thank you for the update. I think my number-one takeaway with all of this is how the art can be connected more widely to other stories while finding emotional depths to plumb from your own life. That echoing emotional resonance of bigger stories feels significantly side by side when I consider the insularity of TTPD versus the flung open wide, colossal nature of The Anthology. Closing on The Manuscript feels like a summary of all of that; the stories are more than just one person’s, and yet you can find the connective tissue of your own story amongst the myriad in the macro collection.
I also think that’s why so many people are name-checked on TTPD: TA — this is a collection of many, many, many stories.
Shruti, you'll love this woman's analysis. I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, more TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists including Zelda Fitzgerald (whom FSF stole work from)! Enjoy!
Read this to my daughter who is an og swiftie forever. Because of her love of swift I’ve also come to know and appreciate TS as the woman, performer and artist she is. Seeing her in concert really reinforces that. (We were lucky enough to get tickets just in time for my daughter and her best friend’s birthday and they were literally “feeling 22” 😂)
Thank you for tying this all together (note to self: dig out my old copy of the bell jar asap!) and for the creating a thoughtful call to action. Reading it to my 22 yr old I could see where she had already followed a thread and where you got her really thinking.
Thank you for that. Because art isn’t meant to always be pretty nor is it meant to be universally understood….it’s meant to make you feel and to see the world in a whole new way.
This made my heart sing Chris! Thank you for sharing, and reading it to your daughter! My hope is exactly this, that more young women are introduced to Plath and her work. Reading it again, as I've dug into this, it has lit my curiosity and love of poetry anew as well. What a wonderful gift she's given us!
Chris, an update! I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, more TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists!!
I’ve noticed that fans and audiences in general—at least in the US—have a tendency to attach an artist’s work to their personal life, as if that’s the only material artists can work with. I think your observations show that creators can draw from a wide range of sources. And instead of finding *the* hidden message, I wish more readers/fans/critics would at least that a creator can range much further. And ultimately the point is to make work that gets people to think, to play with the creative work. This piece is really good, and I look forward to reading more of your reflections whenever you feel moved to again. 🙂
Yes, music as art should mine our curiosity, open our hearts, and perhaps inspire us. Life is maniacally layered, like these songs, and Swift is a student of the human condition. She sings about the messiness of humanity honestly, which is why she has a diverse fan base. You cannot appeal to a wide audience singing about a singular issue, or person. Ironically, some of her fans obsession with her personal life feels quite misogynistic; I don't know one male artist, or band, who's albums and lyrics are picked apart for their romantic inspiration to such an alarming unhealthy degree. I appreciate you reading and commenting, thank you!! 💙
It may just be my perception, but I think women songwriters in general are more heavily critiqued. Even when (especially when?) they’re very successful. From Joni Mitchell to Beyoncé, and before and after, success for creative women always brings a special scrutiny. And I think that’s a big part of what Swift is exploring.
Thanks Jo-Ann, I really appreciate the compliment! I have about a dozen essay's in varying forms I'm working on, but I still don't think of myself as a "writer", lol. It' a very slow process for now.
Thank you for sharing this! Some interesting and thorough connections.
Thank you Kate! I appreciate you reading!
Kate, an update! I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, more TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists including Zelda Fitzgerald (whom FSF stole work from)! TTPD is never going to be figured out by only one person.
https://www.tiktok.com/@rubym364
Wow, girl you have a theory! I do not know Swift or Plath well enough to know all these references (years since I read The Bell Jar) but was fun to follow you putting it all together. I want to believe!! Def one of the most fun TTPD reads I’ve had, well done.
Lane, an update! I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, more TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists including Zelda Fitzgerald (whom FSF stole work from)!
https://www.tiktok.com/@rubym364
This is too good!! Thank you for the update, it is so much fun. You have found a kindred spirit! We are starting a feminist reading group and we might do The Bell Jar First--if so I hope you'll join us. I will be watching for clues !
You might also enjoy Red Comet the Sylvia Plath bio that I've heard is really really good.
This was fascinating! I need to go read some Plath now!
Alexandra, an update! I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists including Zelda Fitzgerald (whom FSF stole work from)!
https://www.tiktok.com/@rubym364
BRAVO!!! Truly erudite, insightful, and brilliant analysis and remarks. Already looking forward to re-reading this. Thank you for writing!
Thank you!! I've now found a few other women online who are investigating the commonalities with Plath, and I ordered the book of Plath's letters, it's so fascinating!!
I genuinely think you're on to something with this! I have a sonic take adjacent to this but I'm still gathering my thoughts of how to articulate how the album is for those of us who came of age in the 2000s listening to alt-indie-pop-rock, etc. In my mind, Taylor has a vision board of all of this. And I was 100% this girl in my teens and 20s lusting over arty indie boys, reading The Bell Jar and studying English Lit., and poring over Leonard Cohen lyrics. I think this album is for the literary folks who aren't into paternity testing her art.
YES!!! There is an interview in which Swift talks about wondering "how far out" she could plan, 3 years, 5 years? You know she has a vision board that looks like she's been tracking a serial killer for 20 years; it's well known she loves true crime!! LOL She said "one of" her inspirations for the song Florida!!! was how people commit crime then run away to Florida to "bury the bodies", and I think about how that relates to writers who have gone to Florida to bury their emotional and metaphorical bodies.
Perfect phrase, "paternity testing her art"!! It's unbelievably sexist.
I would LOVE to read your theory when you're ready to share, tag me!!
This is totally it re: the planning. And also because I think she's a very galaxy brain person while also being completely immersed in both the art she engages with + the art she makes. Anyone I've ever met, including lecturers I've had and friends in the arts, really talk about burrowing into allusions and references as you create + engage. I feel like she's not getting the credit for that in the work. With all of this in mind, when will we get her to lift the veil on the entire creative process??? I want to see the vision board and have her deliver the past mortem on the work!!!
Also, the meta-ness of "paternity testing her art" is that she said that in the reputation prologue!!! >>> https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-reputation-prologue-annotated
I love what you've said about Florida!!! and I love the song. It's so cool and my immediate thought was that it felt like an allusion to the magic realism/meta-reality of the movie Adaptation...which is based on a NYT article/subsequent book!
I will share when I get it written. I've got so much to say...clearly 😅
Oh I went and read the Reputation prologue again, it gave me chillsss!!! Thank you for linking it! I completely forgot what she said, it is so on point, this is an overarching philosophy in her work!! 🙌🏻
Aoife, an update! I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, more TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists!!
https://www.tiktok.com/@rubym364
Omg thank you for the update. I think my number-one takeaway with all of this is how the art can be connected more widely to other stories while finding emotional depths to plumb from your own life. That echoing emotional resonance of bigger stories feels significantly side by side when I consider the insularity of TTPD versus the flung open wide, colossal nature of The Anthology. Closing on The Manuscript feels like a summary of all of that; the stories are more than just one person’s, and yet you can find the connective tissue of your own story amongst the myriad in the macro collection.
I also think that’s why so many people are name-checked on TTPD: TA — this is a collection of many, many, many stories.
This gift just keeps on giving!!!
Loved reading these parallels to Plath! This is one of the joys of enjoying art - finding out the ways it is in conversation with other works of art
"...finding out the ways it is in conversation with other works of art." So well said!
Thank you for reading!
Shruti, you'll love this woman's analysis. I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, more TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists including Zelda Fitzgerald (whom FSF stole work from)! Enjoy!
https://www.tiktok.com/@rubym364
Read this to my daughter who is an og swiftie forever. Because of her love of swift I’ve also come to know and appreciate TS as the woman, performer and artist she is. Seeing her in concert really reinforces that. (We were lucky enough to get tickets just in time for my daughter and her best friend’s birthday and they were literally “feeling 22” 😂)
Thank you for tying this all together (note to self: dig out my old copy of the bell jar asap!) and for the creating a thoughtful call to action. Reading it to my 22 yr old I could see where she had already followed a thread and where you got her really thinking.
Thank you for that. Because art isn’t meant to always be pretty nor is it meant to be universally understood….it’s meant to make you feel and to see the world in a whole new way.
This made my heart sing Chris! Thank you for sharing, and reading it to your daughter! My hope is exactly this, that more young women are introduced to Plath and her work. Reading it again, as I've dug into this, it has lit my curiosity and love of poetry anew as well. What a wonderful gift she's given us!
Chris, an update! I'm not on TikTok but a friend of mine is and found this woman, Ruby, who is a far more serious Plath fan than me! I just finished watching all her videos, THEORY CONFIRMED!! In the chat, more TS fans who are also literature fans are connecting more dots, from more tortured poets and women artists!!
I think your daughter will enjoy this immensely!!
https://www.tiktok.com/@rubym364
I’ve noticed that fans and audiences in general—at least in the US—have a tendency to attach an artist’s work to their personal life, as if that’s the only material artists can work with. I think your observations show that creators can draw from a wide range of sources. And instead of finding *the* hidden message, I wish more readers/fans/critics would at least that a creator can range much further. And ultimately the point is to make work that gets people to think, to play with the creative work. This piece is really good, and I look forward to reading more of your reflections whenever you feel moved to again. 🙂
Yes, music as art should mine our curiosity, open our hearts, and perhaps inspire us. Life is maniacally layered, like these songs, and Swift is a student of the human condition. She sings about the messiness of humanity honestly, which is why she has a diverse fan base. You cannot appeal to a wide audience singing about a singular issue, or person. Ironically, some of her fans obsession with her personal life feels quite misogynistic; I don't know one male artist, or band, who's albums and lyrics are picked apart for their romantic inspiration to such an alarming unhealthy degree. I appreciate you reading and commenting, thank you!! 💙
It may just be my perception, but I think women songwriters in general are more heavily critiqued. Even when (especially when?) they’re very successful. From Joni Mitchell to Beyoncé, and before and after, success for creative women always brings a special scrutiny. And I think that’s a big part of what Swift is exploring.
Wonderful piece. And also this is your first Substack and you have 11 restacks?! You're well on your way!
Thanks Jo-Ann, I really appreciate the compliment! I have about a dozen essay's in varying forms I'm working on, but I still don't think of myself as a "writer", lol. It' a very slow process for now.