Lili Reinhart’s rise to fame arguably began with Riverdale – Netflix’s teen drama series about a bunch of friends in a pretty dark, messed up little town.
But her passion and skill doesn’t end there – Lili is a talented actor, a passionate advocate for mental health and beauty awareness, and, just generally, a damn powerhouse. She’s one of the most underrated young stars in Hollywood at the moment.
People are finally starting to take notice and it has (almost) nothing to do with Lili’s role on Riverdale or star boyfriend, Cole Sprouse. Lili is carving a name for herself, starring alongside huge names like JLo and Constance Wu in Hustlers and, most recently, announcing the release of her very own poetry book.
Why poetry? Why the hell not.
The book of poems, titled Swimming Lessons, will explore themes from Lili’s own life, including young love, anxiety, depression, fame, and heartbreak.
Each “bite-sized yet profound” poem will be accompanied with an illustration a lá Rupi Kaur but with Lili’s own flair.
Lili is no stranger to baring her soul to the public – she often posts about her struggles with mental health and openly shares her experience with anxiety with her fans. She’s also shared some of poetry before.
For boyfriend Cole Sprouse’s birthday she wrote him a “sappy nighttime birthday poem” which she shared on Instagram.
It read:
“I tried to find a poem / that I could send to you. / Because my words were failing me. / But I searched and found nothing that did you justice. / All of these love poems can’t get it right. / No one else’s words could ever fit. / They haven’t known the fortune it is to love you.”
When her Riverdale co-star Luke Perry died, Reinhart wrote a poem for the actor that she posted on her Instagram stories.
And her public Tumblr page is basically an anthology of her work so far.
Lili’s poetry is all beautiful and poignant and hits deep. It’s also a powerful statement – it proves to all the skeptics, haters, critics and cynics that she’s more than just a teen star. That she’s multifaceted and three dimensional and talented.
And that in itself is poetry.
Swimming Lessons is is available for pre-order now and is set for official release on May 5, 2020.