Taylor Swift is full of teases and easter eggs on the way to 'The Tortured Poets Department' release

We are days away from the release of Taylor Swift ’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department , and the easter eggs are flying.

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Swift, known for her love of cryptic messages, is keeping Swifties busy this release week as her infamous easter eggs continue to pop up across the country. Since the announcement of the album during her 13th GRAMMY acceptance speech in February, fans have speculated that it will surround her break-up with longtime boyfriend, Joe Alwyn , whom she dated for six years. Swift appears to be confirming that with symbolism at her library pop-up in LA.

Swifties have been investigating Swift’s poetry library-inspired pop-up at The Grove which offers a preview into the vibe of the album while also containing several items that are giving fans every reason to believe the album will at least partially be about the dissolved romance.

To start, fans noticed the library features 72 card catalog boxes which they’re linking to Alwyn since 72 months equals 6 years… the length of Taylor and Joe's relationship. Further confirming the theory, six of the drawers are open. Taking things a step further — some fans are comparing the aesthetic of the drawers to a mausoleum, perhaps symbolizing the death of their relationship.

Also featured at the pop-up is a globe, which has a large nail in Florida, which is where Tay was when the split went public. Even further, there’s a statue of Diana of Ephesus, the goddess of childbirth and fertility and the goddess of the moon. After some research, fans have found the original statue broke on its way to London (Alwyn’s hometown) in the sixth century.

After loads of hard work from Swifties in LA, the focus turned to those in Chicago Monday evening as painters were spotted on a scissor lift forming a QR code out of "ttpd" letters and "13" numbers. It didn’t take long for the street below to fill with fans who scanned the code and shared it took them to a 13 second YouTube short that features an animated, typewriter-style message that reads “Error 321" and a faded "13." The message resembled the one on Swift’s website the night she announced the album at the 2024 GRAMMYs.

Also on Monday, Swift gave fans more to examine as she released a clip described as “TTPD Timetable” via Instagram. The short, animated clip starts off in a Midnights -reminiscent room with crumpled paper on the ground, familiar photos on the wall and a clock set to 2 o’clock before entering a white office-style hallway and arriving upon a door with a "The Tortured Poets Department" nameplate.

After entering through the keyhole, the video shows a white office with two desks, coffee cups and another clock set to 2 o’clock before zooming in on a bulletin board that has photos from the Eras Tour when Swift announced the three versions of TTPD .

Also on the bulletin board is a calendar that shows 4/19 as “The Tortured Poets Department Release Day” and an “8pm ET  Music Video Release” with 14 tally marks. Stay tuned, we’re sure there’s more to come.

Celebrate the release of The Tortured Poets Department , with nothing but Tay all day on Audacy’s Tay All Day Radio . Available for a limited time, the station will feature all things Taylor Swift including songs from The Eras Tour and our favorite (Taylor's Version) tunes. Additionally, all songs from The Tortured Poets Department will be included on the station upon its release.