Taylor Swift is upholding her brand by being a great role model

Although Taylor Swift’s songs don’t appeal to me, I still admire what she has been able to achieve (“Why the haters are wrong about Tay-tay”, February 18). Judging by the footage of her fans streaming into the MCG, I would have to say the bulk of them appear to be teenage girls. This makes the Swift brand very important, as she is certainly admired by an impressionable and vulnerable demographic. So far, Swift is proving to be an excellent role model and at the end of the day anyone disliked by Donald Trump must be a good person. If Swift’s popularity can sway the outcome of an election, then she is one of the most significant cultural figures of our time. Fortunately for Swift, she is American and not Russian.
Peter Miniutti, Ashbury

Back in the 1970s, when I was teaching secondary English, I taught the poetry of Simon and Garfunkel. Their songs were beautiful poetry. The songs of Bob Dylan have also been recognised as exceptional poetry. I think we’re too quick to dismiss the quality of some of our contemporary songwriters. We need to remember that Donne, Keats, Coleridge and Wordsworth were all once contemporary poets of their times, and now we study them as part of English literature. It seems that often it is only as we look back that we see the beauty of their words. It’s time to recognise the wonderful lyrics of our most contemporary poet, Taylor Swift.
Merrie Carling, Nicholls (ACT)

I have never knowingly listened to a Taylor Swift song. Should I?
Peter Hull, Katoomba

Suburb enhancer

No, Bondi will not be ruined (“Housing reforms will ruin Bondi, council warns”, February 18). Only 14 years ago, Waitara was beginning to have eight storey high rises being built around beautiful bungalows of many years prior. Waitara is now a hub for transport and new railway facilities, close to shopping, Hornsby Hospital, and many other good things. It will only improve what wonderful features that Bondi already has. It will only enhance that iconic suburb.
Alison Stewart, Waitara

I no longer live in Sydney because if I were to retire, I could not afford to live in the beautiful suburbs of my childhood, my youth and my working life. However, I care deeply for this city, and allowing developers free rein, unrestrained from a local council’s carefully designed planning rules, will change the character of this city permanently. It is not new for a premier to be on the side of developers, and disastrous developments like we saw in Victoria Street, Potts Point, were curtailed and often prevented through people protest, Jack Mundey’s Green Bans and the exposure of corruption by journalists. To ignore a local council working honestly in the interests of its residents to preserve and enhance the built environment is a dangerous precedent for a state government to initiate. It reeks of totalitarianism, a suspicious bias towards the profiteering developer, and the current housing crisis cannot justify it.
Lyndall Nelson, Goulburn

Longevity craze

Studies of centenarians, notably in Japan and Southern Europe, have provided strong evidence for the low-cost recipe for long life with good health (“The Sydneysiders joining the Don’t Die club”, February 18). The strategy is reasonably simple in principle, but can be made difficult by work, family and stressful financial commitments. Diet, daily exercise, sleep, mental stimulation, low stress and pleasant social interactions are all important ingredients, but a clean pollution free environment with much greenery is likely important. No one in their right mind should expect to live forever, but a longer, healthy and active life is in reach. Unfortunately, a critical component - one’s inherited genome, is impossible to control.
Geoff Harding, Chatswood

You report that “Don’t Die” guru Bryan Johnson recently had a transfusion from a young Swede to extend his longevity. Would a turnip do? I have one in the fridge.
Patrick McGrath, Potts Point