If you're on Twitter, there's a good chance you've happened across the imaginative cosmic creations of Alex Dimitrov and Dorothea Lasky, the best friends who run the Astro Poets account. In October, the duo are expanding on their Twitter account and releasing their first book together, Astro Poets: Your Guides to the Zodiac. (It's a Scorpio baby — more on that later.) And if you've ever wanted an up-close-and-personal chance to hear all their opinions on Lana del Rey, the spirit of Leo Season, Anne Sexton, and why it's so impossible to date a Sagittarius, you're in luck because the Astro Poets are going on tour. Bustle has all the details below.
In November 2016, just after the election of Donald Trump, Dimitrov and Lasky launched the Astro Poets. They quickly amassed a devoted following, and the account now boasts nearly 500,000 fans. Every Sunday, the two tweet horoscopes for each of the signs — all tinged with the signature blend of lyricism and spark that defines their poetry, too — but they also post memes, astrological jabs, selections from their favorite poems, and lists that assign each of the signs with emojis, or Emily Dickinson lines, or cult classic movies of the '90s. The two also write an astrology-themed advice column for W magazine.
The Astro Poets feels so different from other astrology accounts because its creators are actually poets with several collections between them. (Most recently, Dimitrov released Together and By Ourselves, and Lasky released Milk.) For this duo, it makes perfect sense to combine their two loves into one passion project. "Astrology and poetry both hold within them so much mystery and in mystery there's possibility," Dimitrov tells Bustle.
The new book, out on Oct. 29, 2019, perfectly showcases their love of all things Zodiac and all things literary. Modeled after Linda Goodman's cult-classic Sun Signs, the Astro Poets book provides each sign with an in-depth character exploration as only a poet could write it.
Below, Bustle has all the details on the Astro Poets Book Tour, plus an exclusive Q&A with Alex Dimitrov and Dorothea Lasky:
What would you say is the most "Sagittarius" (Alex Dimitrov) or "Aries" (Dorothea Lasky) thing about you?
Dorothea Lasky: I think what's most special about Aries is that they will perform their way through anything. I definitely have a way of negotiating my everyday life that is a kind of performance and that masks a lot of my real thoughts. I see this as a very classic Aries maneuver. Also, I am usually a bad liar, and most Aries find it pretty difficult not to tell the truth.
Alex Dimitrov: I think the most Sagittarius thing about me is that I'm obsessed with freedom, whether's that's creative freedom, personal freedom, romantic freedom ... I love all freedom! I'm also pretty assertive and know what I want.
Why do you think your love of astrology blends so well with your love of poetry? Can we expect to see any of your poetry in the book?
Lasky: I think both are lenses of understanding the world and human experience. Both astrology and poetry demonstrate that our lives are not exactly what they seem and that associative logic is just as important as rational thought. They also both teach tolerance of others. And yes! Every chapter ends with an original poem by one of us. We also have lots of excerpts of beautiful poems by others.
Dimitrov: Astrology and poetry both hold within them so much mystery and in mystery there's possibility. I just don't think that any of us really know much about the nature of reality. Poetry doesn't pretend to know, and neither does astrology. But they hold that not knowing so well, and maybe that's the most true thing there is.
Your book comes out on Oct. 29, making it a Scorpio. How do you feel about that?
Lasky: It definitely feels fateful. I have a lifelong obsession with Scorpios, probably because I have a Scorpio moon and also because they are a fascinating sign. So it just seems inevitable. Also, Scorpio is the sign that is tied intrinsically to the occult, so it makes sense that a book looking at the hidden meanings of the zodiac would be this sign.
Dimitrov: I mean, it was going to be a Sagittarius and then it got pushed up so it's a Scorpio. I guess I feel okay about that. I'm going to have to be the dad of a Scorpio now (terrifying). But you know, I've never been too obsessed with Scorpios honestly. The signs I'm endlessly obsessed with are Pisces, Libra, and Leo. Basically the signs that are obsessed with me! And I guess Cancers... but as [Dorothea] and I always say, "birthdays in July need not apply."
Astro Poets: Your Guides to the Zodiac by Alex Dimitrov and Dorothea Lasky is available for pre-order now.
