Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass is the highly anticipated debut poetry book by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey, published by Simon & Schuster on September 29th. Fans of Del Rey have said that her lyrics are like poetry and finally, they can have an illustrated hard copy and spoken work vinyl/ CD of her poetry.
The Atlantic called her “an essential writer of her time,” when describing her last album Norman F**king Rockwell and this further solidifies that. Teased online by Del Rey in small audio clips and pictures on her Instagram, fans waited patiently for the poetry to be available in full to the public, and it’s finally here.
The poems themselves are beautiful and gloomy, but hopeful. Del Rey shows her readers she’s not only concerned about dating and men, but the state of the world, it’s environment and if freedom is plausible.
Her poem titled Paradise is Very Fragile starts off “Paradise is very fragile /And it seems like it’s only getting worse /Down here in Florida we are fighting toxic red tides. /Massive fish kills /Not to mention hurricanes and rising sea levels /Back in Los Angeles things aren’t looking much better /my treehouse that had been standing for 60 years succumbed to the Woolsey fires.”
She’s shown in her writing, she is more than “an angsty songwriter,” she’s developed into an environmentalist. Bringing up climate change and bringing it to attention. There is depth, and soul in the poems, Del Rey longs for freedom but cannot go anywhere because of the surrounding fire and devastation.
Del Rey controls her poetry and prose with striking certainty. She knows what she wants to portray and the feelings involved. The poetry brings Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson to mind. They were masters of the craft and Del Rey looks like she’s on a trajectory similar to theirs.
The poem Bare feet on linoleum gives mention to Plath saying “Stay on your path Sylvia Plath / don’t fall away like all the others.” This is seen as an ode to Plath, one of Del Rey’s inspirations. And this isn’t the first time the acclaimed poet has been mentioned.
Her song “Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It” the lyrics go “I’ve been tearing around in my f**king nightgown /24/7 Sylvia Plath /Writing in blood on my walls /’Cause the ink in my pen don’t work in my notepad.” Linking her and Plath’s mental state together.
Hopefully, Del Rey doesn’t go down the same path Plath did and her audience gets more songs and poetry in the near future. It will be interesting to see how she evolves as a writer even more as time goes on.
