Kelsea Ballerini Releasing Book of Poetry

Kelsea Ballerini announced on Thursday that she will be releasing her first book, a book of poetry titled Feel Your Way Through. The compilation will be available on Nov. 16 and is currently available for pre-order. “I’ve used up all my words writing it so for now to keep it simple,” Ballerini wrote on Instagram. “I have spilled twenty-seven years of heart, perspectives, and guts into my debut book of poetry, Feel Your Way Through.”

The 27-year-old further opened up about her book in an Instagram Live with fans. When one fan asked what inspired her to write the book, the singer responded that she was in Los Angeles in 2019 working on her 2020 album, kelsea, and “was just kind of in a bit of a funk.” “I needed to write, but I didn’t have my guitar,” she continued. “And I ended up writing a poem called ‘L.A.’ that ended up being a song on my last record. It was like this crazy stream of consciousness that I was able to put music to and able to fit that record, but I loved how unfiltered that song felt and how I didn’t necessarily have to fit everything into ‘verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro.’”

“Sometimes, there are just ideas or concepts or thoughts, even, that shouldn’t have to fit in that,” she continued. “I just from that point on kind of casually and leisurely started writing poems.” Ballerini explained that when she used to hear the word “poem,” she would think of “this whimsy, idealistic though full of metaphors.” “There is some of that in the book, but a lot of it is, it’s really autobiographical and it just happens to rhyme,” she said. “A lot like the song ‘L.A.’”

In a statement via Just Jared, she added, I’ve realized that some feelings can’t be turned into a song, so I’ve started writing poems. Just like my songs, they talk about what it’s like to be twenty-something trying to navigate a wildly beautiful and broken world.”

Ballerini shared several excerpts from her poems on social media including one titled “Nashville.” “I love it here. I hate it here,” the excerpt reads. “They love me here. They hate me here. I wish they complimented my songs like they do my legs.” Another, titled “Aesthetically Pleasing,” reads, “Blue jeans with a label, the kind that hide my tummy eating at nice restaurants, drink away my money glory summer skin, pricks of tiny needles life of every party, terrified of people.” The Tennessee native is currently working on her fourth album, which will be the follow-up to kelsea.