Amanda as a toddler with blonde hair tied with a pink bow is pressing her pointer finger on a toy keyboard's piano key. She is wearing white onesie pajamas and is sitting on a colorful fruit-patterned couch looking down smiling slightly.
“If we’re not supposed to dance, / Why all this music?”
— Gregory Orr, from "To Be Alive"
“There is a way to live / not racked by guesswork— / simply to pivot / and claim one direction, / to make your path / felt.”
— Joanna Klink, from "On Standing Still", The Nightfields
Two year old Amanda sits at a kitchen table writing with a blue pen on paper.

about.

Amanda Emilio is a musician and writer from Long Island, NY. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Amethyst Review, Overgrowth, shoegaze literary, and Gather among others. She often addresses themes such as grief, nature, and exploring the ties between everyday life and spirituality. She currently serves as a reader for Epiphany and is at work on a manuscript for her first chapbook focusing on overcoming trauma.

As a vocalist and songwriter, she draws much of her inspiration from artists such as Hayley Williams, Hozier, Sara Bareilles, City and Colour, Olivia Dean, Tamino and Sara McLachlan. Presently, she is composing original songs which she plans to professionally record sometime in the near future. Her first EP is available for listening on Soundcloud.

When not writing or playing music, she also regularly enjoys combining her love of photography with restorative hikes in nature.

Black and white self-portrait of Amanda with shadows from the window blinds softly covering her face and the wall behind her.

(things that make me stop look feel awe etc.)

  • Close up of small waves reaching the shore on a beach. The water is clear and there is sea foam at the water's edge along with rocks and shells scattered on the sand

  • Close up of a large fluffy blue-tinted storm cloud formation in the sky

  • A barn owl stands on a bird handler's glove. Her right wing is in mid-flap raised vertically above her head. In the background are green trees and event tents with people walking on the nature center's grounds

  • Close up of fully bloomed purple lilacs

  • Aerial view of orange, yellow, and red trees in autumn. Some of the trees have bare branches.

  • A wide view of a green field with tall grass and trees. The sky is a vivid blue and there is a scattering of small white clouds

  • An orange butterfly with black spots rests on a wooden plank. The edges of its wings are scalloped and their edges are dark brown

  • Baby blue hydrangeas line a pebble path in an arboretum

  • A hiking trail in the woods with bright green leaves on tall trees. There is a dirt path and sunlight mixed with shadows on the ground

  • Fluffy gray storm clouds just before rain. One cloud is a darker gray than the rest of the formation.

  • Close up of an eastern tiger swallowtail rests on a green plant with its wings fully opened. The green plants in the background are out of focus.