Hi! I’m Katie, and I’m a cultural and social psychologist—but you can think of me as your BFF with a PhD. I live in the desert of Texas alongside the cacti, roadrunners, and horned lizards. If you’re looking to understand your inner landscape and the whirlwind of the world around you, I hope you find something of value here. Make sure to subscribe—and you won’t miss a beat! Thank you so much for being here.
I recently came across an article here on Substack.
In the article, the author long-windedly outlined every possible reason Taylor Swift should not be compared to literature heroes of old.
“She’s no Emily Dickinson”, these authors and self-appointed experts say.
“A literature class about her lyrics? Blasphemy—she’s not Patti Smith!”
“TAYloR sWiFT iS NOt A pOEt!!!!!!!!”
Before I knew the content of the post, I must admit I was excited to see the title.
I do generally geek out over any academic review of Taylor and her work.
But—once I clicked, I knew I had been baited.
It was not the content I had expected to see.
It was curious to me why this particular article had come across my radar as it wasn’t from an author I am following.
(That algorithm be algorithm-ing, doesn’t it?)
But, I was glad it had.
I was glad it was there in front of me, sparking mild outrage with every next line.
And—I was glad, because it sparked my curiosity as to why so many folks are averse to Taylor being named something great…a great poet, a great legend, or even the great pop artist of our time.
Then, it dawned on me.