Taylor Swift has been honing her lyrical prowess ever since she was an elementary school student.
Retired music teacher Barbara Kolvek — who taught Swift from first through fourth grade at Wyndcroft School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania — told CBS Philadelphia that she still remembers what the singer was like as a student.
“She always was writing poetry, always. Even in music class when she shouldn’t,” Kolvek said. “I did give her her very first singing solo. ‘Fast Talk Freddie,’ I believe it was called.”
According to a page on the Wyndcroft website, Swift attended the school through fourth grade, before leaving to pursue her music career.
Kolvek added that she and Swift had stayed in touch for a while after.
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“I feel like maybe I gave her a little spark or encouragement to do what she was doing,” Kolvek said.
Kolvek’s support of creativity may have played a bigger part than she imagined. Creativity is one of the top skills a person needs to thrive in the workplace, per the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs Report. According to the organization’s estimates, building soft skills in children could contribute $2.54 trillion to the global economy.
It’s clear Swift still really loves poetry: Kolvek’s interview comes amid the release of Swift’s 11th studio album “The Tortured Poets Department,” which broke records on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music — even with a subdued promotional strategy.
In the caption of an Instagram post celebrating the album’s surprise songs on Friday, Swift even referred to the songs as “tortured poetry.”
The “Cruel Summer” singer writes her own songs and has always been known for her lyrics, especially among her fans. She also often references famous authors and their literary works in her music.
In 2020, while accepting the award for songwriter-artist of the decade at the Nashville Songwriters Awards, Swift even referenced the poet Emily Dickinson in her speech.
“If my lyrics sound like a letter written by Emily Dickinson’s great-grandmother while sewing a lace curtain, that’s me writing in the Quill genre,” she said, per Billboard.
But poetry does seem to run in her blood: As it turns out, Swift and Dickinson are sixth cousins, three times removed, according to genealogy website Ancestry.
A representative for Swift did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
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