Why her? What is the essence of Swiftness? Taylor’s Version: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift, by Stephanie Burt, is a thorough and thoughtful elaboration of the conventional answer. An influential poet and a Harvard professor, she made headlines for teaching an English course called “Taylor Swift and Her World” last year. Burt writes in a sober, ruminative fashion that departs from the overheated tone of so much Swift-related commentary. Rather than limit her comparisons to contemporary pop stars, she puts Swift in conversation with writers such as Alexander Pope and Willa Cather. Still, the book ultimately reinforces the consensus among critics, fans, and even haters that Swift’s extraordinary success stems from how ordinary she seems—a consensus that both underplays her achievement and insulates her from critique.