Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass

Jack Edwards

Rating: really liked it
Lana Del Rey has tight control over her meter, rhythm, and rhyme -- like allowing a yo-yo to unravel itself yet all-the-while maintaining the power to pull it right back, exploiting its spin. Her distinctive tone and ethereal language are unmistakably Lana, but there's also homage to Sylvia Plath in the assonance which is delicious to read aloud. It feels even more vulnerable than her music, especially in the physical edition where the drafts of some poems are printed alongside the refined final versions -- the construction lines behind the rich LA landscape she details. It's a shame about the haikus at the end, which brought my rating down from 4 to 3 stars, as they appear underdeveloped and unnecessary, especially in contrast to the dense imagery and taut poetry she writes so beautifully elsewhere.

farith

Rating: really liked it
full review to come.


she’s coming to end shakespeare’s career and feed the gays.

Celine

Rating: really liked it
Okay so i know i’m not supposed to be biased during a review but screw it... it’s our goddess we’re talking about here. I've been in love with the Queen of Coney Island for years so this gets a solid 5/5.
First of all, I just wanna say I'm happy as heck and so proud of her; in the legendary monologue of Ride, she says "I was a singer. Not a very popular one. I once had dreams of becoming a beautiful poet, but upon an unfortunate series of events saw those dreams dashed and divided like a million stars in the night sky." Well Lana, you freaking made it and you truly are the most beautiful poet. Thankful for the journey of yours and so so overwhelmed with the appreciation and recognition you're getting.

Now; she has only released a few snippets of her book, but so far, they're all amazing and you can literally hear the UV era coming out in some of them... what more could you want?
My personal favourite is "past the bushes cypress thriving." My oh my. What a masterpiece.

For true fans, you know that she loves referencing flowers, peaches, beaches, etc. She did it again and I'm so here for it. Every line from "carrying the air differently" to "you don't want to be forgotten, you just want to disappear" is heaven. I'm in love.

This isn't Rupi Kaur or Lang Leav or R.h Sin poetry; this requires reading between the lines and picking it apart however you want because you'll feel so many emotions at once. That's how she always makes people feel. Love, peace, commitment, solidarity; you feel it all and that's how true poetry should be.

I'm definitely fangirling right now like crazy, but she deserves it. Her poetry is a breath of fresh air and something we so desperately need to remind us who we are and what to look for in life.

Cannot wait for this to be released, along with NFR!!

Luca

Rating: really liked it
This was incredible! I fully admit I am a bit biased since Lana is one of my favorite artists and I’ve loved her work for a really long time. But as a lover of poetry as well, I can confidently say this is a wonderful collection of short, sweet and poignant poems. As expected, it is not for everyone, but if you resonate with her music I’m sure you’ll find this book to be a perfect addition to her catalog. LDR’s songwriting has always been my favorite aspect of her music, and her talent with words has never been more clear than with these poems. She writes on topics such as happiness, love, solitude, trust, control and even writing itself, in both familiar and original ways. I’m obsessed with the imagery she uses, which is very closely tied to two of her most recent albums, NFR and Chemtrails.

I also listened to the audiobook version, which features beautiful and atmospheric instrumentals by Jack Antonoff and makes the reading experience even more immersive. Listening to her read the poems is pure magic if you love her voice and sound, as it gives them even more power. I was completely enchanted and inspired by this collection and I hope she writes more books in the future!

I also have to comment on ‘Sportcruiser’ in particular, which brought tears to my eyes and gave me big Joan Didion vibes ❤️ ‘Salamander’, ‘Pass the Bushes Cypress Thriving’, ‘Tessa Dipietro’ and ‘My Bedroom is a Sacred Place Now - There Are Children at the Foot of my Bed’ were also some of my favorites.

Whitney Atkinson

Rating: really liked it
i heard a rumor that this book was originally only supposed to be published in local bookshops in los angeles/california, and after reading it, that makes sense. there's so many references to a part of the country i'm not familiar with, and though i could identify with her emotions and there were also pictures for each poem, it could be hard to place myself in the poem because the landscape was so foreign.

but this reads like a monologue she would insert into a song (like "ride") with very classic lana del rey melancholy. i enjoyed it, but i'm glad i got it from the library rather than preordered it because i'm not sure this would be a collection i'd return to.

Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell

Rating: really liked it

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I took a week-long vacation to catch up on my TBR and read and review some of the books I was most hyped about, because COVID is still a thing and I'm not going anywhere, and I can make it rain PTO. #adulting #nerd



One of the books I was really excited about was VIOLET BENT BACKWARDS OVER THE GRASS, a poetry collection by Lana Del Rey. I love Lana's music so naturally when I found out that she was putting out a book of poetry, which is basically music's shier little sister, I was like ummm yes please.



Now that I've read the book, I'm like... hmm. On the one hand, it wasn't bad. But on the other hand, it's by Lana Del Rey and I know what she's actually capable of, so "not bad" doesn't really slice it. It's like you think you're getting a Degas painting and instead you get something he doodled on a napkin while paying his phone bill. Like, yeah, the essence is there, but not the maximized potential.



Here's the short of it. Some of the poems were good. A few had an almost freestyle rap beat to them. Some felt like lyrical songs put to paper. And some, idk what the hell she was doing. Changing "you" to "u" and slapping random emojis in there and what have you-- it all felt very high school, whereas the cover tells me "I am a sophisticated and classy bitch who vacays in Provence." There was sort of a gap between what I expected from the presentation and her music, and what I got. Also, I wasn't sold on the photos. The random, grainy pictures felt very Myspace circa 2006. Which sort of ties into the whole high school vibe of this piece. Which is not my thing.



2 to 2.5 stars

Jaidee (breaktime...only upd rd prog until 20th)

Rating: really liked it
4.5 "feminine, navel gazing, wistful" stars !!

I had such a lovely day today. We did a lakeside hike, country drive and I read this book of poetry to my love. I am a huge fan of Lana Del Rey's music and not a day goes by where I have not heard two or three of her songs. She has become part of my daily fabric and habit and I love that I know all her songs by heart as I have heard each of them hundreds of times.

Thank you to Elyse W. who put this book on my radar and today was the day that I explored this book of confessional poetry, california photographs and some haiku. Lana has also included a few photographs and paintings from other artists.

The poetry is interior, lovely, a tad sloppy and intensely romantic with tinges of joy and many kinds of sadnesses. To read these poems was to inhabit the being of Ms. Del Rey and that is a place I like to be.

I will include two haiku by Ms. Del Rey here as well as a poem I wrote a few years back that was inspired by the wonder of Lana.

I stepped on a
bird
cried in my new
boyfrend's arms
to live is to kill -Lana Del Rey

Babe let's go to
town
buy something
sweet -pink
grapefruit
eat it with sugar -Lana Del Rey



Avec Lana

Lana and her midtempo melodious
pop
are as familiar to me
as my
Earl Grey tea
meditation
prayers
chicken salad with red grapes
boardwalk jaunts
silvery kitty

Lana's dulcet mezzo reaches my ear
goes into my heart
up to my lips
that caress my beloved's chest
and achingly elicits my Summertime Sadness

-Jaidee

Thank you for the music Ms. Del Rey and for connection to such pleasurable emotions !

Maxwell

Rating: really liked it
Lana Del Rey knows how to write a song. Her lyrics flow seamlessly along the waves of her melodies and transmit the listener to a particular place and time. For Del Rey, that's often a glamorized yet criticized American Dream, whether it's the grimy streets of New York or the palm-treed beaches of Los Angeles.

In her first collection of poetry, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, then, you'd be right to expect the same feelings as she conveys in her songs: of wanderlust, discontent and transience. Del Rey is never quite happy and seems to be okay with that. She is torn between coasts, two selves vying for the limelight. Her muse is herself and her country. These poems are mostly narrative, reading at times more like poetic diary entries that leave very little to interpretation.

While she has a strong musicality to her poetry—the audiobook is narrated by the author and accompanied by ambient music from Jack Antonoff, her recent collaborator—they often lack depth. Either they are too short and underdeveloped, or too long and lose the thesis as she meanders and muses. For Del Rey fans like myself, those meanderings still hold weight because Del Rey has a sort of magic touch and languishes in the beauty of everyday life so excellently. For people who aren't such big fans or somehow don't know who she is when picking this up, they may come across too self-indulgent.

Though narcissism has always been a part of Del Rey's brand, I think her poetry thrives, as in my opinion most poetry does, when it connects to the universal. Yes, it's interesting enough to hear about Del Rey's personal life in the form of poetry; whether these are thinly veiled realities or heavily fabricated stories is up to interpretation. But that fascination can only last so long and doesn't necessarily encourage revisiting these poems.

If Del Rey is to continue writing, I'd be happy to see her focus more on her thoughts and worldview, of which she has a very interesting, poetic perspective, rather than relay her own dramas and alienate the reader. She's got something here, and this 39-minute audiobook is worth giving a listen if only for its ability to take you away from the world for a bit, into Del Rey's richly imagined world.

Elyse Walters

Rating: really liked it
Audiobook.... read by the author Lana Del Ray
39 minutes long

These poems ... are absolutely extraordinary....
The experience was soooo beautiful.
I listened to it ... with my eyes close—lying on the bench in our sauna — meditative-reflective—and peaceful

Between the piercing words -performed in almost a gentle rap-musical-lyrical type context ....
I was in a complete transfixed ‘awe’ space.

NOT TO MISS....
sooooo beautiful.... very special....
DO NOT listen to this while running on a treadmill —or any other ‘busy’ state.
I think that would be sacrilegious.... lol

Sit down - quietly ‘with yourself’ — and give yourself a 39 minute stunning gift!!!

Even those who rarely appreciate poetry- or even music ( hard to believe anyone could live without music).....”Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass”, will not only ‘not’ disappoint.... you’ll be mesmerized!!

If you don’t believe me…
read a few of the 2,195 reviews on Amazon ... with an overall 5 star rating.

Highly recommend for a authentically raw & atmospheric experience.

Sofia

Rating: really liked it
I love Lana Del Rey's music, but Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass fell short of reaching her classic magical timelessness.

I'm not sure what I was expecting. The black-and-white movie star glamour of Ultraviolence (The power of youth is on my mind / Sunsets, small town, I'm out of time / Will you still love me when I shine / From words but not from beauty) or the reflective, subdued Blue Banisters (What if someone had asked Picasso not to be sad? / Never known who he was or the man he'd become / There would be no blue period / Let me run with the wolves, let me do what I do / Let me show you how sadness can turn into happiness / I can turn blue into something) or the gritty Born to Die (Ours a love I held tightly / Feeling the rapture grow / Like a flame burning brightly). All of her albums have a high number of songs that could stand without music as poetry. Her lyricism is insane.

I know it's difficult to switch between storytelling mediums. But Lana's songwriting is essentially poetry to start with, so I expected the same magic from her "official" poetry. Instead, I got watermelon emojis. Don't ask, I won't be able to answer. A few poems stood out, but most of them were limp. Many of the poems dragged and felt like drawn-out ramblings with no end destination or theme. But not in a good way; I didn't feel like I was in her mind, I just felt detached and disinterested.

She has good rhythm, though. This is a collection that works better in audiobook format than it does on the page. Her poems feel musical, which makes sense. I felt a glimmer of her signature allure at some parts. But Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass was disappointing overall.


2 stars

Tears Of Venus

Rating: really liked it

i don't have words. i just don't.



this woman is everything and i don't think anything i'll say can begin to express how i feel about her so i'm not even gonna try

i'll just

Joe

Rating: really liked it
I was one of the millions of people swept away by Lana Del Rey when I first heard the opening church bells and plaintive piano chords of "Video Games" nearly a decade ago. Despite the spite-filled hot takes and lukewarm reviews, the earworms on her debut album, Born to Die, burrowed in me. I was an immediate fan. Every new release delights me, and I sincerely count her as one of my very favorite recording artists.

But this?

This is bad.

Very, very bad.

The trouble with stan culture, though, is that diehard fans are not supposed to (nor are they encouraged to) question the output of an artist they love. Everything is perfect. To say otherwise invites the rage of fellow "stans". Bring on stancel culture. Buh-dum-ching.

Fellow LDR Stans: this collection of "poetry" is bad.

Very, very bad.

Lana Del Rey writes song lyrics that recycle the same shopworn themes over and over again: high glamor and unfathomable wealth never conquer unshakeable sadness or fading beauty. It's melodramatic. It's a little cliché. But it's served on a bed of sumptuous choruses and captivating melodies that can distract the listener from lines like "baby, you're so ghetto/you're looking to score" ("Art Deco", admittedly one of my favorite tracks of hers).

I read a batshit insane review of Norman Fucking Rockwell! when it was released that likened Del Rey's writing to that of Nobel Prize-winning Bob Dylan's. Pump the brakes, everybody. I don't even like Bob Dylan, but even a vague awareness of his output will dissolve any perceived similarities between his writing and hers. It's astonishing to even suggest that Del Rey is anything more than workmanlike in her writing. At her best, she is good. Just good. At her worst, she is laughably bad.

Further, no writer defends why they are a writer. They just are. The sheer volume of times Del Rey refers to herself as a poet in this book is borderline satire. Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

In the description on the hardcover's flap, Del Rey writes, "...I worked laboriously picking apart each word to make the perfect poem. They are eclectic and honest and not trying to be anything other than what they are... the spirit in which they were written was very authentic.”

Don’t get me started with the rage I feel whenever I hear the younger generation blather about how important it is to be your “authentic self”. I don’t know where this obsession comes from aside from the fact that social media systematically dehumanizes people so much that they don’t know how to live by their own code.

Anyway. Stop using that word. You don’t need to advertise your authenticity or lack thereof. Especially you, multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated Lana Del Rey.

Let's instead tackle the first sentence about “making the perfect poem” with an anecdote:

Being an LDR fan, I bought both the book and the "audiobook" on vinyl. I thought it would be fun to listen to the record while reading the poems. So that's what I did.

The audiobook itself is a curiosity. For one, the poems are presented out of order (why?) and Del Rey doesn't read every poem in the slim volume (again, why?) and each "track" features producer-of-the-moment Jack Antonoff doodling around with beatnik-y guitar licks, mellotrons, and an abundant overuse of a distortion pedal. Del Rey ramrods through the poems as if she's reading them for the first time, sometimes veering into overwrought flair that sounds like some high school student's dramatic audition going off the rails.

But more curiously: the poems are different. Neither audiobook reading nor printed "final" form are alike on... well, any of them. Sometimes Del Rey eliminates an entire stanza. Sometimes it's a word, and there's no meaningful effect (tone, sound, or otherwise) for the change. On "Paradise is Very Fragile", "60 years succumbed" (print version) becomes "80 years succumbed" (audio version). That change hints at nothing: no deeper meaning, no added value. It merely hints that the poem is unfinished and still in its draft stages... which is what nearly every poem in this volume feels like. Unfinished or whipped up on a whim and doled out for the stans to gobble up (which, judging by the reviews on Goodreads, they have).

If your poems boast perfectly picked words or “came to you in their entirety”, why change them? Because they’re not finished. Go back. Write seven or eight or forty more drafts and then publish your book.

What's frustrating, though, is that, buried in all the meandering fluff, there is some really solid writing:

"Sportscruiser" begins with a compelling snapshot of dissolution only to tumble into literal paragraphs about Del Rey taking flying and sailing lessons. Conversations are dictated, emotions unpacked on a surface level, and actions told rather than shown. It comes across less as a poem and more as a rambling diary entry. But even within the rambling, there are some pretty lines: "...captains aren't like poets [!!!LDRisapoet!!!]; they don't make metaphors between the sea and sky". That, to me, is a lovely line. It is surrounded by self-indulgent nonsense. Therefore, this poem is not finished.

"In the flats of Melrose" has a central stanza that presents a snapshot of domesticity with an underpinning of uncertainty. It's lovely. It's also immediately followed by an inane line about her lover becoming "hell-bent on being some indie director". This poem is not finished.

"Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass" has an evocative image of a child behaving childlike in the backyard, which would've been sufficient on its own except Del Rey chooses to parallel it to the banal platitude of "do[ing] nothing about everything forever". Jesus. Christ. This. Poem. Is. Not. Finished.

Sandwiched between the poems are ruminating photos that add some texture while also being completely meaningless. The book, therefore, is well-made and pretty but ultimately empty and far from novel. In fact, Del Rey recycles ideas from songs like "Ride" and "Old Money" and outright cribs a line from "Cinnamon Girl" as if her fans wouldn't notice.

I’ll end on this: the hilariously bad "Sugarfish”, which gifts us this record-scratching gem: Sugar sugar lips and teeth/fingertips touch emojis/hard forever/hearts on fleek/bb please come over.

That's... just awful.

Gosh, I don't know, you guys. What was I expecting? Pulitzer Prize-worthy poetry?

After all, this is the same woman who wrote and sang (in deadpan, no less), "My pussy taste like Pepsi cola."

Come at me, stans.

Update: October 25, 2021

Ok, y'all. Blue Banisters came out on Friday, and I've listened to it pretty much on repeat.

I have some exciting news. Lana Del Rey's lyrics are getting better: less clichéd, punchier, and often damned emotional. "Blue Banisters", "Text Book", "Black Bathing Suit", "Sweet Carolina", "Thunder"... powerful, unexpected stuff.

I'd like to say she had it in herself this entire time, but I wasn't certain. In my eyes, she's redeemed herself from this still-garbage collection.

Maribeaux

Rating: really liked it
Real poets don't have to try so hard to persuade their readers on every poem that they are real poets.

(Let's not forget she promised to sell the collection for no more than $1 "because my thoughts are priceless" (rolling my motherfucking eyes) and then she backed-out from the idea.)

I don't know how other people are not seeing the pretentiousness in this.

Update: Apparently (some of) the money was donated to the Navajo Water Project, which is great! I still believe the "book" is trash however and I still believe she made (some) profit out of it.

Emily B

Rating: really liked it
I had no real knowledge of Lana del Rey before listening to this and I found it pretty hit and miss

Fatimah

Rating: really liked it
This was high key annoying