Did you know Lana Del Rey wrote a book of poetry?
We all know the famous singer/songwriter for her “Hollywood sadcore” music that has carried a lot of us through the best of times and the worst of times. (Dickens reference 😉)
Her mysterious and elusive persona has attracted millions of listeners (including me) and her music style has evolved into an artistic masterpiece.
Because I already love her music, I was shocked but very excited to find out she also wrote poetry.
I was wandering in Barnes and Noble (as one does) and I stumbled upon a pretty book called Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass. To my great surprise I saw lovely Lana’s name right on the bottom. I was very happy to see that the book looked not only promising but gorgeous and it had this vintage/film vibe to it.
It was purchased and read within a day, of course!
Absolutely a 10/10! I definitely recommend especially to people who are newer to the Poetry genre… and here’s why;
The Style
Lana Del Rey has spent years cultivating her style and this book is 100% her!
She mixes her typewriter pages, personal photography, and poetry all together to create an elegant physical representation of her life.
This confluence of Hollywood realism and the romantic tones of womanhood opens a window into her mindset on fame and her world behind the celebrity.
As I read this book, I felt transported to a warm summer evening, on a porch listening to a woman tell her story. She forms this portal through the bright oranges on the cover and the lines dedicated to childish wonder, love and loss, missing friends, and LA life.
The warm toned pages, typewriter font, imperfect poems, and gorgeous patinated sepia photographs all feel intentional.
They feel like a woman finding herself.
Her journey feels imperfect, fraught with sadness and mistakes… and yet there are silver linings on the edge of every page, beaming with love and the shine of purpose.
The Photography
A huge aspect of this collection is her photography.
Infused with retro americana, Lana’s personal images fill full pages with California landscapes and a real glimpse of a celebrity’s average life.
These grainy visual components add nostalgia and complete Lana’s vision. They also break up her words in smooth ways, leaving room for her another piece of her aesthetic identity to form. Small captured moments of nature, machinery, and simple objects depict a larger universe of meaning and personal value.
Looking at these photographs feels extremely personal, like a journal entry or an old photo album. Lana Del Rey, the famous singer and songwriter, revealing her world through her eyes is a truly invaluable experience.
The Poetry
The crux of her book. The final piece. The essential insight that completes her vision.
Words.
Lana’s poetry is beautiful in its realism. She uses daily life, the life of someone we can all relate to (even if we though we couldn’t), in a way that brings joy into simple tasks. We see her music in every rhyme and her poetry in every song.
Using her typewriter, she writes longer poems, each rhyme a work of art, as well as shorter haikus, their form captivating in their simplicity.
In her poem SportCruiser, we find a woman finding herself. We see the eternal search for purpose. And the inevitable peace when it is found. Lana is not a pilot nor a sailor. She writes. She writes.
One of my favorite excerpts is from her poem LA Who am I to Love You. It reads;
“so just love me by doing nothing
except for perhaps by not shaking the county line.
I’m all yours if you’ll have me
quietly or loudly
sincerely your daughter
regardless
you’re mine.”
Lana pours her heart out. To LA, to Hollywood, to people she knows and people she doesn’t, but most importantly
to herself.
Whether you like to read poetry or not, Lana Del Rey’s message is something to be heard by all of America.
Fame isn’t everything. Love can be found everywhere. That sometimes its okay to do nothing about everything. And that to truly live is to find yourself, even if you have to fail a few times.
Happy Reading!