About LIT112: The Life of a Showgirl with Mara Eller
Class is in session!
After 16 years of teaching literature and writing, I’m bringing that same analytical energy to this controversial album. Think of this as AP Lit: Taylor Swift edition.
We’ll unpack TLOAS like a novel—tracing literary techniques, Shakespearean allusions, character arcs, and emotional architecture.
It’s like your favorite college English class, minus the assignments and grades. If you love peeling back layers of meaning and finding hidden connections (while enjoying some seriously fun music), this is for you!
19: Finale — TLOAS is a culmination, not a contradiction (with Kelley Erickson)
For our last episode, I sit down with functional mental health practitioner Kelley Erickson to explore The Life of a Showgirl through the lens of emotional integration, identity, and resistance. We unpack why this album feels so different, the emotional arc of Taylor’s discography, and why this album is a culmination, not a contradiction. We talk about performance, power, and what it looks like refuse to play by patriarchy’s rules while remaining within the system—and we go DEEP. I lear...
15 Dec 2025
18: The Crowd Is King — what the prologue poems reveal about the life of a showgirl
In this episode, we uncover the secrets hidden in the six poems that fans are calling a prologue for the album. From the meticulous preparatory rituals to the unspoken rules that keep a showgirl sane under the gaze of adoring—and sometimes ruthless—crowds, these poems deepen our understanding of the album but also add a missing element. We explore the “monotonous thrill” of performing night after night, the moments of connection that make it all worth it, and what it truly means to love...
12 Dec 2025
17: Punk Scholar Meets Showgirl
For our second bonus episode and our first interview, I’m joined by musician and scholar Micah Vandegrift. Micah and I met in graduate school when we both studying American culture at FSU. He specialized in music culture, specifically local post-punk scenes. In short, NOT a swiftie. I invited him to listen to the album for the first time with me and share his thoughts and impressions after each song. We ended up talking about musical cohesion, sonic arcs, and whether authenticity and performa...
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