Emily Milay’s destiny within the literary world was written since the beginning; she was named after two of the greatest poets in literary history, Emily Dickinson and Edna Saint Vince Millay. 

Reading “Bee! I’m expecting you!” by Emily Dickinson, a poem scribbled by her mom across the walls of her childhood bedroom, became Milay’s first introduction to poetry.  

“I would lay in bed, and I would recite that poem over and over again, almost like a mantra. It became sort of a ritualistic thing I would do at night to help me sleep,” she said.  

By reciting this poem day by day, she learned at a young age the mechanics of poetry, rhyme, meter, and figurative language. This influenced her earliest poem she wrote at seven years old, as she was adhering to the technical rules of poetry without being explicitly taught them. Dickinson, in a way, became her first teacher.  

Being named after two of the most influential female poets came as an honor for Milay. As soon as she processed what this actually meant, she read their works and connected with them on a personal level. She was never forced into poetry— instead she was drawn to it from a young age.  

“Something that was established from a very young age, my parents would read me different poetry collections and different books. There was just a literary culture in my home. It’s something I came to love, be passionate about, and something that I continue to pursue as I grew older,” she explained.  

Milay began taking the first steps into poetry during her childhood. But it wasn’t until she was 19 years old that she began regularly writing poetry. She began writing a poem a day, which would come naturally to her. Her first poem, the one she wrote at seven, holds elements of her current poetry. Hence, her style has remained unchanged.  

The poem in question was melancholic, with hints leaning towards the dark side. This is a theme that remains in her poetry. She now delves into overt, aggressive and raw language that keeps her signature darkness. With experience, she has learned to integrate these themes to make the best and precise poem.  

Alongside Dickinson, Sylvia Plath is another of her major inspirations.  

“I first read her poetry when I was 19. I just felt such a camaraderie and kinship with her. I recognized myself in a lot of her poetry.” She continued, “We tended to explore the same themes, and she was passionate about writing in a very metaphorical and figurative way. I’ve also written in that style.” 

Milay has studied Plath’s poetry and learned that poetry is meant to be an outpouring of emotion, rather than something that is calculated. She specifically highlights how Plath describes the world and her experiences through a darker language. 

Using poems that showed her strongest work, which was written throughout the years on her diaries and journals, she released her debut poetry collection My Words Untethered: A Collection Of Poems on June 10 of this year.  

“There really was no inspiration,” she said. “It’s just a compilation of events from my life, experiences, and feelings. I think others should be able to relate to because they are so universal and so commonly experienced.” 

Milay always told her friends and family members that she was going to publish a book one day. The book blossomed from journals, diaries, Google Docs, editing, formatting and publishing.  

Although these poems weren’t written with the intention of being published, it was something she wanted to explore at a later date. 

“I never wanted to publish before I felt I’d reached the peak of creativity or of artistic output. I wanted to hone my craft and release a collection when I felt I had something special,” she explained. “So it just happened very naturally that one day I realized I was writing some of my best poems and thought I would like to publish within the next year or two. I started working toward that goal.” 

When choosing what poems to show in her debut book, she drew from her degree in English and writing. It helped her decide which poems would showcase her strongest work and would resonate with people. 

Some of the themes shown are natural phenomena like sunsets and seasonal change, to poems that delve into social issues like feminism and women’s place in society. 

“There is a conflict between light and darkness, hopelessness and hopefulness in the book. There is this war between the darker side of humanity and the lighter side of humanity,” she said.   

Milay additionally highlighted how poetry is unique and essential to get a better understanding of ourselves.  

“I was talking with a friend recently. We were talking about the difference between novels and poems. The essence of the conversation was that you read a novel to understand, and you read a poem to be confused,” she said.  “Poems are so abstract and so personal to the poet that they can be confusing to an outside audience. Yet through that confusion, we can learn some of the greatest truths about ourselves, we can find and unlock some of the most powerful emotions.” 

My Words Untethered: A Collection Of Poems is available to purchase through Amazon and EmilyMilayPoetry.

Photos courtesy of Emily Milay | Interviewed on August 15, 2025