Over the summer, I like to explore music more. I had previously listened to one of Lana Del Rey’s albums,
so I decided to listen to her entire discography. I loved her romantic takes on love and tragedy and her singing style. Del Rey’s book, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, dives deeper into her style of
storytelling, now in a poetry form. I am able to make connections to her past music and past life in general, and I find the poems to be very interesting and satisfying to read.

Lana makes this book feel human. Each poem has imperfections, purposely left in. Some have two pages, one with an edited version of the poem left with notes, markings, and spelling mistakes, and the other a final version of that poem. Some poems have spelling mistakes fixed in pen, or line-to-line spacing issues. These imperfections make each poem stand out and bridge the gap between author and reader. They show that the poet is human. This alone allows you to think more deeply and connect with Del Rey’s writing; it feels like a conversion between you and her. And it’s a good conversation.

Lana is a romantic. At the start of this book she tells you to read it outside in the warm afternoon sun. Her poems explore tragic breakup, love, nostalgia, happiness, melancholy, being at the lows of her life, looking back at the highs, and how she creates the future. Knowing about her personal life and connecting that to her poetry is what brought me the most enjoyment. She makes references to her actual  name, Elizabeth Grant, and past abusive relationships and drug addictions. Almost all the poems are set on the West Coast, where she explores themes of being free from past abuse, finding herself, and looking back on the happiness that once was. Lana also includes photos that she took, and while there’s nothing very special about them, their low quality aesthetic adds nostalgia to each page.

After reading each poem I stopped for a minute to think about how powerful it was. Lana explores her simple life and what makes her happy in the poem “Happy,” running from an abusive boyfriend when it would have been easier to stay in “Thanks to the Locals,” and learning to accept herself in “SportCruiser.” This book wants readers to embrace the romantic aspects of life, whether it’s joy or pain, and use them to grow. Violet Bent Backwards is a great poetry collection filled with personal accounts that give each poem life and make the entire book a pleasure to read.