Last Tuesday, the English Department hosted a creative writing event centered around Taylor Swift, the songwriter extraordinaire. It took place in Falvey 205 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on March 19, which was no coincidental pick. Like many of Swift’s own release dates, lyrics and more, this date was chosen as it marked exactly one month until the project that inspired it drops on April 19.
Professor Megan Quigley from the English Department led the event, taking great care to employ her own double meanings. Beyond the date of this workshop, mini-Insomnia Cookies were offered as snacks, a clear ode to Midnights, Swift’s latest album.
The main activity centered around two things: the leaked track list of 17 songs split into four “sides” and a short message released by Swift herself, signed “The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department.” As Swift is known for her cleverly hidden Easter Eggs (allusions) and double meanings, this gave attendees plenty to work with.
“Please choose one track from the track list above and connect it to the missive from Taylor, the Chairman,” the prompt read. “Then either write more lyrics which include the name of the song OR a paragraph explaining Easter Eggs that connect to the song title.”
The ideas that were brought forth by students were fascinating to consider and often wove in previous projects of Swift’s to try and make sense of a larger narrative. The group determined that The Tortured Poets Department is likely to be a “break-up,” or heartbreak, album, and discussed at length other past songs that could give listeners an idea of what is to come. Starting with the new song titles, participants picked out “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)” and listed older songs they thought may connect in any way. On that list were “The Lakes,” “The Great War,” “Cardigan” and more.
Later, Swift’s brief message was also analyzed by the group. If one has seen the text, the allusions to war or violence become quite obvious. For example, Swift mentions a “tarnished coat of arms,” “loved bombs” and ends this missive with the (edited) immortal line of “All’s fair in love and poetry,” which many know to usually say “war” instead.
Quigley expressed her appreciation for the level of attention to detail that students brought to this event and the overall consideration of Swift’s lyrics.
“I am a scholar of Ulysses by James Joyce,” Quigley said. “[Its] a very different subject than Swift, but one thing it takes to understand Joyce is a mastery of tiny details and allusions to earlier writers (Homer, Shakespeare, Aquinas) combined with a love for a good story. I have noticed that my students who love Taylor have a similar kind of passionate urge to know every little ‘Easter Egg’ (or allusion) in her canon, so I think there’s actually kind of a similar drive to know it all in the fans of Taylor as there is in the readers of Joyce.”
This kind of acknowledgement is so important for students who are passionate about Swift’s music, as it can too frequently be seen as invalid in a literary space. After recognizing that this event could be a safe space away from that judgment, attendees began to loosen up and share their ideas more freely than at the beginning of the conversation.
When asked if she would consider teaching a class like this event, Quigley pointed to her existing course, Modernism and Fanfiction, as a similar approach to literature.
“I hope that reading the fanfic of modernist classics alongside the originals will show us what we need from our literature today,” Quigley said. “We will also think about fan culture and the idea of a canon, ideas that definitely connect to Taylor, too.”
She also mentioned thinking about a course dedicated just to Swift.
“I know Stephanie Burt at Harvard is teaching one, so I’ve been wondering if our students would be eager to analyze her life and lyrics, as well as her unbelievable success as a businesswoman,” Quigley said.
Hopefully students will be able to capitalize on that opportunity in the future, but for now, there might be more events like this one in store to enjoy. Quigley alluded to possibly holding a Beyonce-themed writing event soon, an exciting opportunity to once again spotlight a powerful woman and take a break from studying to write for fun.
