Buy new:

£12.65

RRP: £16.99

Save: £4.34 (26%)

& FREE Returns

FREE delivery Saturday, August 20. Details

Or fastest delivery Friday, August 19. Order within 9 hrs 4 mins. Details

Select delivery location

In stock.

As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app. Want to listen? Try Audible.

[{"displayPrice":"£12.65","priceAmount":12.65,"currencySymbol":"£","integerValue":"12","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"65","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"8iScZq8g2jn%2FTc5KgNtlR4JRWd9vvMFS60SiEUugt%2F7J9LIzyxjy%2Frmn29XeAfzjLoThux%2BQOPG1AtyoA09B1i6cWM2kCOawA7W4LifW%2B%2FRWeIqHlZht2qBfDUoOXLzM","locale":"en-GB","buyingOptionType":"NEW"}]

££12.65 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Dispatches from

Amazon

Sold by

Amazon

Details

Dispatches from

Amazon

Sold by

Amazon

Return policy: Returnable within 30 days of receipt

Add gift options

Share <Embed>

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 8 images

Follow the author

Lana Del Rey

Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass Hardcover – 29 Sept. 2020

by Lana Del Rey (Author)

8,004 ratings

See all formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle Edition

"Please retry"

£9.99

—

Audible Audiobooks, Unabridged

"Please retry"

£0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

£12.65

£12.42

£11.53

Note: This item is eligible for FREE Click and Collect without a minimum order subject to availability. Details

Enhance your purchase

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DEBUT BOOK OF POETRY FROM LANA DEL REY, VIOLET BENT BACKWARDS OVER THE GRASS

'Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is the title poem of the book and the first poem I wrote of many. Some of which came to me in their entirety, which I dictated and then typed out, and some that I worked laboriously picking apart each word to make the perfect poem. They are eclectic and honest and not trying to be anything other than what they are and for that reason I’m proud of them, especially because the spirit in which they were written was very authentic. Lana Del Rey

Lana’s breathtaking first book solidifies her further as 'the essential writer of her times' (The Atlantic). The collection features more than thirty poems, many exclusive to the book: Never to Heaven, The Land of 1,000 Fires, Past the Bushes Cypress Thriving, LA Who Am I to Love You?, Tessa DiPietro, Happy, Paradise Is Very Fragile, Bare Feet on Linoleum and many more. This beautiful hardcover edition showcases Lana’s typewritten manuscript pages alongside her original photography. The result is an extraordinary poetic landscape that reflects the unguarded spirit of its creator.

Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is also brought to life in an unprecedented spoken word audiobook which features Lana Del Rey reading fourteen select poems from the book accompanied by music from Grammy Award-winning musician Jack Antonoff.

Print length

128 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster UK
Publication date

29 Sept. 2020
Dimensions

22.1 x 2.1 x 14.9 cm
ISBN-10

1471199665
ISBN-13

978-1471199660
See all details

School Books

From pre-school to A-levels, find School Books for all ages Shop now

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your basket.

Choose items to buy together.

by Lana Del Rey Hardcover
£12.65
In stock.
Sent from and sold by Amazon.
Get it as soon as Saturday, Aug 20
by Susanna Kaysen Paperback
£6.99
In stock.
Sent from and sold by Amazon.
by Ottessa Moshfegh Paperback
£8.14
In stock.
Sent from and sold by Amazon.

Lana Del Rey
711
Audio CD
21 offers from £3.52
Susanna Kaysen
3,205
Paperback
in Real Life Tragedy Biographies
18 offers from £4.19
Lana Del Rey
1,098
Audio CD
24 offers from £3.31
Florence Welch
1,785
Paperback
22 offers from £9.35
Orion Carloto
914
Hardcover
11 offers from £8.19
Lana Del Rey
3,760
Vinyl
15 offers from £32.71

From the Publisher

Product description

From the Back Cover

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DEBUT BOOK OF POETRY FROM LANA DEL REY, VIOLET BENT BACKWARDS OVER THE GRASS 'Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is the title poem of the book and the first poem I wrote of many. Some of which came to me in their entirety, which I dictated and then typed out, and some that I worked laboriously picking apart each word to make the perfect poem. They are eclectic and honest and not trying to be anything other than what they are and for that reason I'm proud of them, especially because the spirit in which they were written was very authentic. Lana Del Rey Lana's breathtaking first book solidifies her further as 'the essential writer of her times' (The Atlantic). The collection features more than thirty poems, many exclusive to the book: Never to Heaven, The Land of 1,000 Fires, Past the Bushes Cypress Thriving, LA Who Am I to Love You?, Tessa DiPietro, Happy, Paradise Is Very Fragile, Bare Feet on Linoleum and many more. This beautiful hardcover edition showcases Lana's typewritten manuscript pages alongside her original photography. The result is an extraordinary poetic landscape that reflects the unguarded spirit of its creator. Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is also brought to life in an unprecedented spoken word audiobook which features Lana Del Rey reading fourteen select poems from the book accompanied by music from Grammy Award-winning musician Jack Antonoff.

About the Author

Lana Del Rey is an American singer, songwriter, artist and poet. Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is her first book.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster UK; 1st edition (29 Sept. 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1471199665
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1471199660
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 22.1 x 2.1 x 14.9 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 4,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 12 in Love Poetry (Books)

Customer reviews:
8,004 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Lana Del Rey

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

5 star		87%
4 star		7%
3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all customer images

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

TK

Saved 2020 ✨

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2020

Verified Purchase

Absolutely stunning book! Very beautiful inside and out with amazing poems that I go back to.

Ps. Lana put on a damn mask! 🤬

57 people found this helpful

Helpful

Pet

Beautifully read by Lana with vintage effects

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 August 2020

Verified Purchase

Absolutely beautiful and worth the audio purchase - the poetry reading is accompanied by vintage soundtrack and effects that immerse you into the world of lost love, life’s twists and turns, feelings of inadequacy and pain. This is not just for Lana fans but for every poetry fan.

22 people found this helpful

Helpful

Gary Soderlund

A Different Lana Del Rey

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 August 2020

Verified Purchase

If you're a fan of Lana Del Rey's music this is a must listen to experience. It adds another aspect to the persona of the best songwriter of her generation.

23 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jody

Can’t wait for cocc

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2020

Verified Purchase

Can’t wait for cocc

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

hannah stafford

couldn’t be better, i love it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2020

Verified Purchase

so intimate, beautiful, meaningful... you can tell that she’s writing from her heart, especially LA Who Am I To Love You? so impressed, a book to treasure 🤍

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Legal Vampire

'I always had something gentle to give'

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 June 2021

Verified Purchase

'I made a bath that night of honey
Dipped my toes in rose and money'

***

'...put you on speaker
and chat for hours underneath the trees
and think about the last time you were here lying next to me
how the noise from the cars got louder and louder
during rush hour
until it sounded like a river or a stream
and it felt like we were swimming
but it wasn't just a dream
we were just

happy'

It seems a natural development from her career as a singer that Lana del Rey wrote this book of poems, as, unusually for pop songs, her lyrics read well even without music just on the page. However, her poems here are deeper and more complex than her song words. She has created a wider experience than just words on paper. The typewritten look of the text illustrated by old-fashionedly unsharp photos of California create a 'retro' look that somehow suits this book, with lines like:

'Standing stoic blue and denim'

that expresses in 5 words a particularly 20th Century American kind of masculinity.

There are several simple but striking paintings by Erica Lee Sears, including the round, bright oranges glowing amid green leaves and shadows, with glimpses of light blue sky between, on the cover. Also, colour and black and white photos, many taken by Lana herself. Then there is the sound of her voice speaking some of the poems accompanied by snatches of music and sound effects on the accompanying audio book (or YouTube). All blend and complement each other.

There are a number of slight differences in the poems printed in this book and the recordings. In line 7 of 'Paradise is Very Fragile' the page refers to a tree house 'standing for 60 years' but in the spoken version Lana says '80 years'; the latter makes more sense in context so perhaps the book contains a misprint. Even so, I find it best to read the poems on the page first, then listen to them while following the written text, then re-read to make sense of the more obscure passages, and listen again.

The poems often have an emotional logic rather than logical logic. Sometimes I can find no clear meaning. I do not know if that is because there isn't one or there is but I can't see it.

The title of this book 'Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass' comes from one of the poems, about a carefree little girl called Violet.

Most of the poems obey no consistent metre, rhyme scheme or structure. Some rhyme for a few lines and then continue without rhyming.

Lana does though stick to the rules of Haikus, of which she includes several. Haikus are very short poems invented in Japan, with a first line of 5 syllables, a second line of 7 syllables and a third and final line of 5 syllables, so 17 syllables in all. Examples from this collection include:

'Poets- like comics
are inherently quite sad
better off alone'

'I stepped on a bird
cried in my new boyfriend's arms
to live is to kill'

My favourite poem in 'Violet bent backwards...' is 'LA Who am I to Love You?' This is addressed to the City of Los Angeles, asking the City, her adopted home, to welcome her back, adding 'I never had a mother'. Whether that implies a personal rift between Lana and her real mother is probably not our business. If it does, I am sad for both of them. However, in some poems Ms Del Rey states things about herself that are not literally true. She says in one poem she has a husband and in another an ex-husband, although as far as I know Lana at time of writing has never been married, but is currently engaged.

My second favourite poem in this collection, 'Paradise is Very Fragile' begins with Lana's concerns for the World and her country, but becomes more personal towards the end, 'I am Very Fragile'. Along the way she thinks or dreams about Eve tempted by the serpent in the Garden of Eden to eat forbidden fruit:

'Paradise is very fragile and it's only getting worse
and every time you leave I seem to think about the curse
bestowed upon Eve
that faithful eve
she took that bite
from that fruitful tree...
...citrus watercolor images of serpents on orange trees quietly arise and grow sweet in my midst'

Quite a short book to which I shall return many times.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Martins Pepernieks

Beautiful experience throughout!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2020

Verified Purchase

A very beautiful, moody, and picturesque poetry book. Love the added touch of her own photography throughout the book and the edited words.

Poetry very similar to the style of Lana’s music. As a fan, I found it very soothing and compelling.

Can’t recommend enough!

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

BILL BULLOCH

From the heart (of America)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 July 2021

Verified Purchase

As a fan of Del Reys songwriting, its hard not to like her poetry. It does appear a little forced and contrived in places, but overall it flows quite well. coupled witj the images innthe book and the whole of her oerve, it sits very well, having a naivity and honesty about the words, which comes across almost as if we are reading diary entries. Sylvia Plath is clearly an influence, if not in terms of theme, but certainly in tone, slipping from simple wonder and euphoria to borderline depression like a leaf on the wind. My one complaint might be the choice of paper, which when using the typescript font and pastel shading, does suggest a diary or personsl jotter, but taken at face value does appear a choice of economy. The paintings on the cover and inside compliment the work well. i look gorward with anticipation to more work in this vein

Helpful

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	AbeBooks Books, art & collectables	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Download Audiobooks	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	DPReview Digital Photography	Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations

Amazon Home Services Experienced pros Happiness Guarantee	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands

Amazon Warehouse Deep Discounts Open-Box Products	Amazon Business Service for business customers	Whole Foods Market We Believe in Real Food

Select Your Cookie Preferences

Buy new:

£12.65

Follow the author

Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass Hardcover – 29 Sept. 2020

Enhance your purchase

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

From the Publisher

Product description

From the Back Cover

About the Author

Product details

About the author

Lana Del Rey

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Select Your Cookie Preferences

Buy new: £12.65

Follow the author

Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass Hardcover – 29 Sept. 2020

Enhance your purchase

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

From the Publisher

Product description

From the Back Cover

About the Author

Product details

About the author

Lana Del Rey

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Buy new:

£12.65