Taylor Swift for Adults: Taking Swift Seriously

Taylor Swift for Adults is a tantalising opening salvo in Swiftology - the study of the work of Taylor Swift. While Swift's private life has been covered to death, her talent as a lyricist has rarely been analysed. Until now. Swifties are well aware that she's a lyricist par excellence but this book makes that case to the unbelievers. Swift's gift as a songwriter is not merely sentimentality and circumstance - and this book takes a deep look at her 10 albums to isolate what makes her a beloved lyricist for millions. Any serious study of a lyricist or poet needs to establish what are the tropes, the patterns, and the style of that artist, and this book does precisely that. With careful attention to poetic detail, the scansion, flow, and form of her writing, this brings out those details that pass by in a flash on the radio, bringing them fully into focus. Many have made the argument that Swift is a gifted lyricist - in online forums and YouTube comments - but this is the first time in writing those arguments have been given shape and serious attention. It's a book aimed at adults but not po-faced bores - taking a subject seriously can also mean laughing at swearwords and sex metaphors. Rather than po-faced and straitened, this is a lightly witty book expressing, at its core, a deep affection for this generation's favourite songwriter. AUTHOR: Kev Nickells is a writer/musician (for love) and programmer (for money) based in Brighton, UK. The weather is often nice here. Thanks to ADHD he has an untidy collection of fascinations - typography, Biblical hermeneutics, crip theory, non-English-language pop music, functional programming, queer activism etc. He is learning Polish slowly and rueing its case system. He lives in a lovely flat with a lovely partner and three cats who are usually lovely, except when it's morning and they're hungry. 16 b/w illustrations