In her TEDx talk, Kristie Frederick Daugherty intertwines the themes of poetry, passion, and the inspirational journey of Taylor Swift. She explores how Swift’s lyrical storytelling resonates not just with music lovers but also with aspiring creatives. Through vivid examples from Swift’s career, Daugherty emphasizes the importance of pursuing one’s passions unapologetically, highlighting that creativity often flourishes when we embrace authenticity.
Daugherty encourages her audience to view challenges as stepping stones rather than barriers, illustrating how Swift’s resilience in the face of adversity serves as a blueprint for following one’s dreams. She posits that like poetry, our personal stories can transform through expression, empowering individuals to connect with their true selves. With a focus on the transformative power of art and self-expression, this talk serves as a reminder to pursue what lights us up, inspiring the next generation to embrace their own unique voices and passions.
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Author Video Description
How can passion spread and grow through others? In her inspiring narrative, Kristie Frederick Daugherty discusses the thought-provoking lyricism of Taylor Swift, which inspired both a book written by a collection of well-regarded poets titled Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift and the creation of a poetry foundation. Throughout her story, Daughtery speaks of her own passion, which is language and poetry, and how it seems to perfectly intertwine the music and endeavors of Taylor Swift in all her stardom. Kristie Frederick Daugherty is the writer and editor of Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift, and holds an MFA in Creating Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her poetry has been published in many literary journals, and she is currently co-editing two poetry anthologies, receiving her PhD in Literature/Criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and publishing her own poetry manuscript titled Ordinary Pietá. Kristie Frederick Daugherty is a poet and editor. She holds an MFA in Poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she is also a PhD candidate in Literature/Criticism at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She is the editor of Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift which was published in December 2024 from Random House. She has poems and interviews in Ponder Review, North American Review, American Poetry Review. and many other literary journals. She is a contributing editor at The Blue Mountain Review. She has a chapbook of poetry forthcoming in late 2025 with poet Stephanie Burt, and she has a collection of poems, Ordinary Pietá, forthcoming in 2026.
Find her on Facebook and Instagram at kristie.daugherty.1 and on her website www.kristiefrederickdaugherty.com This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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TEDx is an international community that organizes TED-style events anywhere and everywhere — celebrating locally-driven ideas and elevating them to a global stage. TEDx events are produced independently of TED conferences, each event curates speakers on their own, but based on TED’s format and rules.
Video “Taylor Swift, Poetry, and Following Your Passion | Kristie Frederick Daugherty | TEDxUSI” was uploaded on 06/11/2025 to Youtube Channel TEDx Talks