Who is this? This is the fine and fabulous Emilie Autumn. (Official website)

What does she do? She’s a singer, violinist, and sometimes writer.

Why is she important? She’s amazingly strong, funny, creative and successful despite being bipolar. She proclaims herself loudly and proudly no matter what.

Emilie has not had the easiest life, but what impresses and amazes me about her is how she expresses her pain through her music and writing. Her album Opheliac, for instance, metaphorically discusses a lot of painful times in her life which led to her incarceration in a mental hospital. Her book, “The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls” incorporates actual journal entries from her time there. I would love to talk more about it, but I don’t want to give it away. If you go read it and come back, we can chat. (And, unfortunately, my ex still has my copy and I don’t know if I’ll ever get it back so I can’t lend it to nearby friends atm.)

When I go to one of Emilie’s shows (I’ll be going to my 3rd and 4th next February!) I find myself completely transported into her world. It’s just amazing. And watching her play her violin? Incredible. Maybe that’s the music student in me, but it always gives me goosebumps. She also has a very pro-girl/anti-male/yey!-lesbianism! vibe to her shows which, for me, is really encouraging. But I took my cousin who is an arts/political journalist with me and she enjoyed it even with all the lesbian Victorian burlesque-ness that goes on with it. Because the music is that good. And Emilie has some pretty amazing stories to tell if you’re willing to listen.