TTPD and Its Lessons on Soul-baring

The Tortured Poets Department is a masterclass in writing authentically and baring your soul, no matter how it’ll be perceived, for the author always knows her own story.

Call me a Swiftie but I sort of knew that TTPD would be my sort of album as soon as Taylor began teasing lyrics and sharing editions, unveiling the big bookish story of it all. And, that’s what this album is: the manuscript of an important, direction-changing chapter of her life. As been a devoted fan rooting for our anti-hero since 2008, I’ve quietly – and not so quietly – watched Taylor’s euphoric rise and domination of the music world, noticing that she never strays from her goal. It’s everybody else’s treatment of her that changes.

We’re all flawed.

Writers are a curious bunch, aren’t we? We write and write and write and, once in a while, we’ll share what we’ve created. We pour our raw emotion, thoughts, feelings, politics and experiences into words, it all spilling out messily, no matter how many revisions we’ve managed. Is there an end? I’ve never thought so. The manuscript that sits, sealed, on my MacBook – no typewriters here! – is finished but there is no end. Thoughts bud daily but I keep them rooted. Our works bare our soul in the most subtle of ways, crudely torn apart once in the open. How many times have I hit ‘Publish’ on a blog post, Tweet, Facebook status, WhatsApp message, MySpace bulletin, only to feel regret? My thoughts continued, I think dully. That was me then.

The Tortured Poets Department isn’t a masterpiece, but it IS a masterclass in authentic writing, in the therapeutic exercise of journalling your thoughts, in the process of public soul-baring. Perhaps Taylor is correct as always: you don’t need to over-explain yourself in your own story. People that are committed to misunderstanding you will rarely change.

All’s fair in love and poetry.

And, because I threw my toys out of the pram on Instagram, but you’re my safe space online, here’s my TTPD Top 10 ranking, as of Day One of this era:

1. The Manuscript
2. loml
3. The Alchemy
4. Down Bad
5. The Bolter
6. How Did It End?
7. I Hate It Here
8. imgonnagetyouback
9. The Black Dog
10. Clara Bow

Which is your favourite track from the album? What does it mean to you?