Is Taylor Swift related to 19th century poet Emily Dickinson?
- Published
- comments
One of the world's most successful singer-songwriters could have poetry in her genes, according to studies by a genealogy company.
A team at Ancestry traced the family tree of Taylor Swift and found she has a common relative with the famous American poet Emily Dickinson.
The report states that "Swift and Dickinson both descend from a 17th-century English immigrant", making the two sixth cousins, three times removed.
Emily Dickinson wrote hundreds of poems in her lifetime but they were only published after her death
Who was Emily Dickinson?
Emily Dickinson was a 19th century poet, who is thought to have authored 1,800 poems over her lifetime.
Because much of her writing was done in secret, only 10 of these poems were published while she was alive.
After her death, Emily's sister Lavinia discovered hundreds of these poems and decided Emily's work should be made public.
The poems eventually became more widely known, and Emily's fame grew in the years after her death.
Emily Dickinson is now regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
Taylor Swift has been connected to the poet before by fans
Taylor has previously spoken of Emily Dickinson's influence on her music.
In a 2022 acceptance speech at the Nashville Songwriters Association International, the singer jokingly said some of her lyrics "sound like a letter written by Emily Dickinson's great-grandmother".
And eagle-eyed Swifties have noted that the album Evermore, which came out in 2020, was released on Emily Dickinson's birthday - 10 December.
Earlier this year Taylor Swift revealed the name of her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, which will be released in April.
- Published4 March
- Published16 February
- Published3 October 2023
