Taylor's Version: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift

by Stephanie Burt

Overview

A preeminent Harvard professor and poetry expert explains the artistry—and the celebrity—of Taylor Swift

“This is an outstanding look at one of the world’s most beloved entertainers.”―Kirkus (starred)

Taylor Swift has become a peerless superstar, ceaselessly productive and internationally beloved. From her teen country debut to her Eras tour and beyond, Swift’s career and her creations have captivated and bewitched us, opening up new ways to see both her life and our own.

In Taylor’s Version, the poet and literary scholar Stephanie Burt offers an insightful and heartfelt critical appreciation of Taylor Swift, her body of work, and the community that her art has fostered. Drawing from her 2024 Harvard course, Taylor Swift and Her World, as well as from her years as a Swiftie, Burt examines Swift’s particular form of genius – not the destructive genius of tortured poets, but the collaborative and joyful genius of an artist who has mastered her craft. She highlights the ways Swift’s work remains at once intimate and relatable, portraying people we feel that we know and people we wish we could be, from the first loves and girlhoods on Fearless through the public and private angst of Midnights. How does she do it (with a broken heart)?

Tracing a path through the Eras, Taylor’s Version shows what Swift has created, how it works, and why her songs will endure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541606234
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	10/07/2025
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Stephanie Burt is Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English at Harvard University. Her work appears in the New York Times Book Review, the New Yorker, and the London Review of Books, among others. Her other books of poetry and literary criticism—fourteen in all—include We Are Mermaids, Advice from the Lights, and Don’t Read Poetry: A Book About How to Read Poems. She lives in Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

Thorough and thoughtful.... Burt writes in a sober, ruminative fashion that departs from the overheated tone of so much Swift—related commentary. Rather than limit her comparisons to contemporary pop stars, she puts Swift in conversation with writers such as Alexander Pope and Willa Cather.”—The Atlantic

“Taylor’s Version is hugely entertaining and fascinating, and will be especially for literature geeks and pop—culture fans. Burt isn’t afraid of being critical, either, which is always welcome, and offers literary context to Swift that’s easy to miss, especially if one is just a casual listener.”—Buzz (UK)

“This is an outstanding look at one of the world’s most beloved entertainers… a smart, incisive look at the singer—songwriter who has captured the world’s imagination.”—Kirkus (starred)

“An affectionate fan letter with unexpected depth.”—Publishers Weekly (starred)

“Taylor Swift treats her own life as worthy of artistic obsession and grandeur; Stephanie Burt treats her oeuvre as worthy of academic and poetic attention.In Taylor's Version, Burt not only articulates the force of Swift's songwriting genius, but—perhaps more importantly—makes the case for her place in the literary tradition. A provocative, sharp, well—argued book for any Taylor Swift fan—or skeptic.”—Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties

“In this wide—ranging and thought—provoking tour of all things Taylor Swift, Stephanie Burt deftly balances the perspectives of fan and critic, diving deeply into each of Swift’s albums, and tracing her remarkable evolution as an artist and cultural icon. Whether you’re a diehard Swiftie or a casual listener, this insightful and illuminating book will send you back to the songs themselves with a fresh appreciation for where they came from, how they work, and why they mean so much to so many people.”—Tom Perrotta, New York Times—bestselling author of Little Children

“Depending on your feelings toward Ms. Swift, you may or may not want to like this book. Too bad, it’s going to make you like it, and see the phenomenon in a way you never have before.”—Catherynne M. Valente, New York Times—bestselling author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship of Her Own Making

“Taylor Swift is lucky to have a fan, a listener, and a writer as open to her music and as acute to its internal and emotional rhythms, Swift’s craft and her audience’s response, as Stephanie Burt. With unfailing lucidity, empathy, and wit, she takes a reader through the songs, until you can hear, all over again, how they really work.”—Greil Marcus, music journalist

From the Publisher

★ 2025-05-30
An exploration of what made Taylor Swift the phenomenon she is.

Poet and literary critic Burt taught a class about the songs of pop star Swift at Harvard University in 2024, with 200 students signing up to learn about the music and lyrics of the singer-songwriter. Burt’s book poses and explores a seemingly simple question: “Taylor Swift is a world phenomenon. How did she get that way?” She proposes some answers: She mostly wrote her own songs; she is “both aspirational and relatable”; and she has an indefatigable work ethic. Burt dedicates a chapter to each of Swift’s 11 studio albums, starting with her self-titled 2006 debut, which Burt says is part of the pastoral tradition in literature and treated country music as “a set of tropes.” Burt goes on to analyzeSpeak Now, which she considers a Künstlerroman;Lover, “a mess” with “aspirational moments”; and Swift’s most recent record,The Tortured Poets Department, her longest and “saddest” album. The book closes with a chapter on Swift’s record-shattering Eras tour, which Burt got to see in Edinburgh, Scotland. Burt’s book mixes close readings of Swift’s lyrics (she urges readers not to treat them as poems) with looks at Swift’s biography and accounts of Burt’s own travels in search of the country that made Swift. A self-proclaimed “Swiftie,” the author does an especially good job writing about the artist’s relatability: “If she’s a genius, that’s not because she stands apart from everyone else or pushes us away.” Burt isn’t afraid to criticize Swift (something of a rarity among her fans), and her refusal to treat the singer with kid gloves is welcome: She’s a fan, but a clear-eyed one. This is an outstanding look at one of the world’s most beloved entertainers.

More than a fan’s notes: a smart, incisive look at the singer-songwriter who has captured the world’s imagination.

Kirkus Reviews