Bio

Hi, I'm Emily Vierthaler

Poet from Anchorage, Alaska, currently based in the Netherlands. My work explores how poetry can come alive for modern audiences —how it can move off the page and into real-life contexts— and stimulate us to show up more impactfully in the world. A series of small, quiet shifts that unfold in mundane moments and take you by surprise.

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My practice includes both performance-first poetry, written to be spoken aloud and experienced in community, and page-first poetry, where restraint, ambiguity, surgical precision and sustained tension are central. My debut collection Glasshouse emerged from years of live performance; my current manuscript reflects a turn toward page-centered experiences.

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I write for events, milestones, creative projects, and literary outlets. Whether it’s an anniversary card, a brand activation, or a live performance, the goal is a heartfelt and nuanced voice for your moment. This is all informed by my academic background in neuroscience and cognition, which grants a deep sensitivity to language, perception, and emotional resonance.

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Collaborations are the heart of my work. Working with talented artists like composers, filmmakers, calligraphers, translators, and illustrators, I help give fresh new faces to poetry. Together, we’ve created choir compositions, poetry films, street calligraphy, birth cards, live shows, and more.

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Written work has appeared in publications like Sunday Mornings at the River, Mnemotope Magazine, and Twenty-two Twenty-eight. I have performed at festivals and venues such as Festival Hongerige Wolf and Concordia Theater on Tour, and served on the jury for the Netherlands Poetry Film Festival.​

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If you’re imagining a collaboration, a commission, or a poetic experience that meets people where they are and brings them somewhere new, let's talk.​​​

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Selected past performances:

Festival Hongerige Wolf

Great Granate Gala

Concordia Theater on Tour

Landjuweel Festival

Pllek 10th Anniversary

Amsterdam Vrijheidsbal

Notes of a Dirty Old Man

G&G (show with Wordbites & Diederik van der Laag)

Living Village Festival

Vuurwerk Filosofisch Avond

De Lievelinge

Subculture Cabaret

Word Up Amsterdam

Zutphen Literair

Midnight Masquerade

Poëzie op de Stoep

Huis der Letteren

Labyrinth Poetry Night

Rough Night Press

Plotscast

Woordnest

DWAAL//GRUIS (album release Wordbites & Charlotte Beerda)

Ils Dorment (album release Diederik van der Laag)