Julie Polter has been with Sojourners since 1990. She’s currently an associate editor, focused on the feature section and otherwise proofreading pretty much anything that gets put in front of her. She’s written about topics as varied as abortion, low-power radio, obscure music groups, the funeral industry, and catalog shopping, and has directed in-depth coverage of money and politics, Flannery O’Connor, Howard Thurman, faith and art, the labor movement, and sustainability.

Julie grew up barefoot and semi-feral on a farm in the northwest corner of Ohio. At 18 she began winding her way east, drawn by easy access to black clothing and strong coffee. She took a right turn in Boston and ended up in Washington. Her education includes early childhood immersion in “Gilligan’s Island,” English literature at Ohio State University, theology at Boston University, and a recent M.F.A. degree in creative nonfiction from George Mason University. The latter has led to research and writing about the people who have lived in her Columbia Heights house and neighborhood over the past century or so. Julie also learned much, some of it useful, while sharing an office with art director Ed Spivey for a dozen years; she now has her own space, but doesn’t miss Ed, since his office is next door and the walls are thin.

Julie’s abridged list of inspirations: Flannery O’Connor, Dorothea Lange, David Sedaris, Zora Neale Hurston, Rev. Billy. The gospel according to pop: indie music, 60s pop and soul, ‘70s funk & punk, on it goes. Eastern North Carolina barbecue. “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.” A grandmother who never stopped praying, despite poverty, abuse, and ill health. The other grandmother, who once gave a house away. My mother, questioning, sarcastic, dreaming of more than she ever got. The three amazing young women who are my nieces. Peg & beam barn construction. Belle & Sebastian’s “State That I’m In.” The Perseids meteor showers. Ezekiel’s performance art prophecy. Diner communions (finding Christ in vinyl-upholstered booths).

Some Sojourners articles by Julie Polter:

Replacing Songs with Silence
Censorship, banning, blacklists: What’s lost when governments stifle musical expression?

It’s the Sprawl, Y’all
Why suburbs-on-steroids are wearing out their welcome. 

Extreme Community
A glimpse of grace and abundance from - of all things - reality TV.

The Politics of Fear

The Cold Reaches of Heaven
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Bill Phillips talks about his faith.

Just Stop It
Daring to believe in a life without logos. An interview with journalist Naomi Klein.

Called to Stand with Workers

Women and Children First
Developing a common agenda to make abortion rare.

Obliged to See God (on Flannery O’Connor)