Can celebrities write poetry? Ah, the age-old question. (Maybe just in my head.) Of course, “good” poetry is subjective. I like to think reading poetry is a lot like listening to music, in that sometimes you find yourself connecting with certain songs and artists in ways you can’t adequately explain at first. The same can be said for poetry; sometimes you just stick to it like Velcro and it takes a minute to figure out why. Literary criticism of poetry tends to be a very snobby field, so let me make clear that all forms of poetry are valid and if you develop a connection to it, that’s all that matters.
That being said, as someone with two literature degrees, I tend to appreciate poetry from both analytical and emotional angles. Is this poetry “good” by the standards that I was taught? Maybe not, but I feel a connection to it nonetheless. Thus, I’m fascinated by celebrities who publish poetry collections. More often than not, they’re musicians attempting to turn their songwriting ability into poetry, but since songwriting and poetry are two different concepts, these poetic efforts accomplish varying degrees of success. So I read 10 books of poetry by celebrities then rated and ranked them according to the following scale.
★★★★★: Beautiful; this celebrity could easily moonlight as a poet.
★★★★☆: Well written for the most part and engaging.
★★★☆☆: These poems read more like unfinished songs, but I appreciate the sentiment.
★★☆☆☆: Unlike your intentions which I can see were good, this was not.
★☆☆☆☆: Girl what?
Useless Magic by Florence Welch
Synopsis: Lyrics and never-before-seen poetry and sketches from Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine. (What more need be said?)
Rating: ★★★★★
Verdict: It had been a few years since I last read Useless Magic, but clearly I really enjoyed it because when I dug out my copy, I found a bunch of sticky tabs marking poems, lyrics, and passages that I loved. This book is a mix of existing and unheard lyrics as well as poems, and it’s just magical to read. Florence Welch could easily write a book of complete poetry and have it be just as good. She understands classical forms of poetry as well as modern poetics and free verse, which just explains more why she’s so beloved as a musician.
Fragments by Marilyn Monroe
Synopsis: Beyond the headlines — and the too-familiar stories of heartbreak and desolation — was a woman far more curious, searching, witty, and hopeful than the one the world got to know. Now, for the first time, readers can meet the private Marilyn and understand her in a way we never have before. Fragments is an unprecedented collection of written artifacts — notes to herself, letters, even poems — in Marilyn’s own handwriting, never before published, along with rarely seen intimate photos.
Jotted in notebooks, typed on paper, or written on hotel letterhead, these texts reveal a woman who loved deeply and strove to perfect her craft. They show a Marilyn Monroe unsparing in her analysis of her own life, but also playful, funny, and impossibly charming. The easy grace and deceptive lightness that made her performances indelible emerge on the page, as does the simmering tragedy that made her last appearances so affecting.
Rating: ★★★★★
Verdict: While I’m sure most of the poems and scribbled notes found in Fragments were never meant to be seen by anyone else but Marilyn — yet another example of how people continued to exploit and profit from her even in death — I’m so glad that these poems were published. It’s been over six decades since her untimely death, but if you still need to learn how multilayered Marilyn Monroe was as an artist beyond how her era and culture portrayed her, you must drop everything and read Fragments. Perhaps the poems that do exist in this book are just that, unfinished scraps and fragments, but that’s what makes her verse all the more impressive. If these are just incomplete scribbles, imagine what she could have accomplished if she’d had more time.
I Would Leave Me If I Could by Halsey
Synopsis: Grammy Award-nominated, platinum-selling musician Halsey is heralded as one of the most compelling voices of her generation. In I Would Leave Me If I Could, she reveals never-before-seen poetry of longing, love, and the nuances of bipolar disorder.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Verdict: I’m not too huge a fan of Halsey’s music outside of a handful of songs I think are excellent, so I actually went into reading her poetry book without bias or expectation. And I think that’s what made me enjoy I Would Leave Me If I Could, because I went in with a completely open mind. Unlike other poetry books by prominent songwriters, none of the poems in this book read as songwriting they got paid to put into a book. Halsey’s poems are just that — poems. They aren’t perfect and at times veered a bit off course for me, but I was nonetheless pleasantly surprised.
Eat the World by Marina Diamandis
Synopsis: For the first time, platinum-certified singer-songwriter Marina shares her singular observations of the human heart through poetry; this collection is essential. Marina’s talent for powerful, evocative song lyrics finds a new outlet in her poetry. Each poem resonates with the same creative melodies and emotional depth that have made her an artistic sensation. Hailed by The New York Times for “redefining songs about coming of age, and the aftermath, with bluntness and crafty intelligence,” Marina delves even further into trauma, youth, and the highs and lows of relationships in these profound, autobiographical poems to form a collection that transcends the boundaries of music and literature.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Verdict: By contrast, I am a huge fan of Marina’s music, so I’m not ashamed to say I pre-ordered it as soon as I could. The pop songstress had previously shared glimpses of her poetry on her blog, and I loved it even back then, so I was so happy for her when she shared that she’d be publishing an entire book of poetry. But I will also admit, I had some reservations when Marina started sharing excerpts of some poems ahead of Eat the World’s publication — I was worried it was all going to be cringey Tumblr/notes app poetry. (Which isn’t any less valid as other poetry, but… let’s just say I know Marina is capable of more.) But the depth of the subject matter of the poems in her book usurp any questionable creative liberties she takes in her writing. Overall, Eat the World is a searing examination of modern fame written from the perspective of an outsider looking in.
When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance by Joan Baez
Synopsis: Joan Baez shares poems for or about her contemporaries (such as Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and Jimi Hendrix), reflections from her childhood, personal thoughts, and cherished memories of her family, including pieces about her younger sister, singer-songwriter Mimi Fariña. Speaking to the people, places, and moments that have had the greatest impact on her art, this collection is an inspiring personal diary in the form of poetry.
While Baez has been writing poetry for decades, she’s never shared it publicly. Poems about her life, her family, about her passions for nature and art, have piled up in notebooks and on scraps of paper. Now, for the first time ever, her life is shared revealing pivotal life experiences that shaped an icon, offering a never-before-seen look into the reminiscences and musings of a great artist. Like a late-night chat with someone you love, this collection connects fans to the real heart of who Joan Baez is as a person, as a daughter and sister, and as an artist who has inspired millions.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Verdict: First of all, since I am a child of the ‘90s, I would just like to point out that I was a fan of Joan Baez before the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown started making her trendy again, OK? (I learned of her music the way a ‘90s kid is supposed to, through 20th-century film soundtracks.) So I when I learned early last year that Baez was publishing a book of poetry, I wanted that immediately and requested it from my library. And while I appreciated the wistful, nostalgic tone of most of the poems, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance reads more as a notebook of unused song lyrics recycled and pieced together into poems. Which is fine! But when I’m reading a book of poetry, I want it to read as poetry, not a musician scrapbooking their songwriting ability into poems. Because while the publishing industry clearly thinks they are similar if not the same, songwriting and poetry are two different things.
Feel Your Way Through by Kelsea Ballerini
Synopsis: Deeply felt and candid, Feel Your Way Through grapples with the challenges and celebrates the experiences Kelsea Ballerini faces as she navigates the twists and turns of growing into a woman today. She addresses themes of family, relationships, body image, self-love, sexuality, and the lessons of youth. The poems speak to the often harsh — and sometimes beautiful — onset of womanhood. Honest, humble, and ultimately hopeful, this collection reveals a new dimension of Kelsea Ballerini’s artistry and talent.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Verdict: Feel Your Way Through is essentially the millennial antidote to When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance. I love Kelsea Ballerini’s music, and a lot of the poems in this book speak to valid experiences and feelings that many young women, and young twentysomethings at large, have while coming of age. But then again, her music does the same thing. I feel more of Ballerini’s passion for these subjects when listening to her songs, especially those on her latest album Patterns. I didn’t necessarily get those knife-in-the-heart moments of self-recognition in her book of poetry, because these poems are essentially her employing her songwriting skills to write poems. And once again, that’s fine… but I’ll just go listen to Ballerini’s music instead.
Tears For Water by Alicia Keys
Synopsis: Though Alicia Keys has been very vocal through her career, there were always “delicate thoughts” that she never before imagined she’d share with anyone else — until now. In Tears for Water, she opens the journals and notebooks that she has kept throughout her life and reveals her heart to her fans in return for all the love they have shown to her and her music.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Verdict: Tears For Water could partially be considered in the three-star category, but I couldn’t justify rating this book of poetry above two stars. This isn’t to say that Alicia Keys isn’t a talented singer and songwriter. But it’s more than obvious that the poems included in this book were written when Keys was much younger and dreaming of one day reaching her goal of being a musician. And that would be fine if said poems from when she was younger were actually good and showed the great promise of a future writer… but they are not. This book did first come out in 2004, so I think we’d all be better off if we pretend Tears For Water didn’t happen and just focus on the talented being Alicia Keys is today.
Pretty Boys Are Poisonous by Megan Fox
Synopsis: Megan Fox showcases her wicked humor throughout a heartbreaking and dark collection of poetry. Over the course of more than seventy poems Fox chronicles all the ways in which we fit ourselves into the shape of the ones we love, even if it means losing ourselves in the process. Pretty Boys Are Poisonous marks the powerful debut from one of the most well-known women of our time. Turn the page, bite the apple, and sink your teeth into the most deliciously compelling and addictive books you’ll read all year.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Verdict: I will tread lightly here as Pretty Boys Are Poisonous does deal with subject matter that is anything but light, such as domestic violence and sexual assault. So good on Megan Fox for channeling her feelings and experiences into art as a way of processing those traumas. She’s that girl. It just so happens that this book is… not that girl. A lot of the poems are only a few words per page, and some aren’t even written coherently. So while I do commend Fox for processing her traumatic experiences through art, I can’t say I recommend Pretty Boys Are Poisonous.
Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass by Lana Del Rey
Synopsis: Lana Del Rey’s breathtaking first book solidifies her further as “the essential writer of her times” (The Atlantic). Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass showcases Del Rey’s typewritten manuscript pages alongside her original photography. The result is an extraordinary poetic landscape that reflects the unguarded spirit of its creator.
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Verdict: I really debated going back and changing my review of Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass to two stars. I really did. But one star really does accurately reflect how I feel about it. I can’t say I went into Lana Del Rey’s book of poetry with a completely open mind, but I did have no expectations. The themes that Del Rey explores and the book as a whole read as too performative for me. I’ve read a lot of other reviews from other readers going into her use of rhyme, meter, and other poetic devices, but even reading with my thinking cap on, I didn’t pick up on any of that. I’ll leave it at Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass was not my cup of tea whatsoever.
Dark Sparkler by Amber Tamblyn
Synopsis: The lives of more than twenty-five actresses lost before their time — from Marilyn Monroe to Brittany Murphy — are explored in this haunting, provocative new work. Amber Tamblyn is both an award-winning film and television actress and an acclaimed poet. As such she is deeply fascinated-and intimately familiar — with the toll exacted from young women whose lives are offered in sacrifice as starlets. The stories of these actresses, both famous and obscure-tragic stories of suicide, murder, obscurity, and other forms of death — inspired this empathic and emotionally charged collection of new poetic work. Dark Sparkler is a surprising and provocative collection from a young artist of wide-ranging talent, culminating in an extended, confessional epilogue of astonishing candor and poetic command.
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Verdict: I wanted to love this book. I really did. From the moment I first read the synopsis, I was hooked. It was right up my alley, plus I already liked Amber Tamblyn as an actress and feminist activist. But I’ll just have to call a spade a spade when it comes to Dark Sparkler: this book is so bad. As in, I was shocked at how bad this is. I’d like to say it has some literary or poetic merit, but I’d rather read five more poetry books by Megan Fox than ever read the verse in this book again. (If I may quote from one line I saved, “A child-star actress is a double-edged dildo.”) No shade to Tamblyn intended. I still love her as an actress and I enjoyed her other book Era of Ignition. But poetry is not her skill. Please, no more. I beg of you.
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Jeffrey Reads 