Biography
Professional Biography
Julie L. Moore is the author of Slipping Out of Bloom, her first full-length book of poetry, which was published by WordTech Editions in June 2010, and Election Day, a chapbook of poetry published by Finishing Line Press in 2006. Her poetry has also been published in several anthologies, including Becoming: Anthology of Women’s Stories, forthcoming from the University of Nebraska, and Mamas and Papas from City Works Press.
Moore’s poems have appeared in over hundred publications, including Alaska Quarterly Review, American Poetry Journal, Apple Valley Review, Atlanta Review, Chautauqua Literary Journal, Cimarron Review, The Christian Century, Christianity and Literature, The Christian Science Monitor, Cimarron Review, The MacGuffin, The Missouri Review Online, The Southern Review, Sou’Wester, and Valparaiso Poetry Review.
Moore has also received a number of awards and recognitions. Most recently, in 2011, her second full-length manuscript, Scandal of Particularity, was named a semi-finalist in Perugia Press’s national contest, and her poem “Recovery” was featured as The Poem of the Week in The Missouri Review Online. That same poem was named a finalist in Writecorner Press’s 2010 poetry contest. In addition, the editors of Free Lunch and Verse Wisconsin nominated her for Pushcart Prizes in 2008 and 2010. Likewise, Moore’s poem “Stealth” was named a finalist in The Fourth River’s 2009 poetry contest. Also in 2009, Moore received the Rosine Offen Memorial Award from the Free Lunch Arts Alliance for her poem, “Science Lesson,” and she received the Judson Jerome Poetry Scholarship from the Antioch Writers’ Workshop (AWW), was named a finalist in Dogwood’s annual poetry contest (for her poem, “Harnessing Infinity”), and was selected as the feature poet for the inaugural issue of The Basilica Review. Moreover, her poem “Confession” won the 2008 Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize from Ruminate.
Moore is active in giving readings, networking with poets, and teaching poetry in the community. She has participated in AWW several times since 2005, and in 2010, she conducted the first-ever Saturday seminar on poetry for AWW. She has also taught poetry at Rosewood Arts Centre in Kettering, Ohio and run poetry workshops at independent bookstores like Blue Jacket Books in Xenia, Ohio. Many of her poems have been read on local public radio stations in Yellow Springs, Ohio; Plainfield, Vermont; and Lexington, Kentucky. In fact, she now regularly fills in for Conrad Balliet, host of “Conrad’s Corner,” a 90-second poetry segment, on WYSO, 91.3 FM, out of Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Moore’s books have been reviewed favorably in several publications. Election Day was well received by both Christianity and Literature and The Springfield News Sun. In addition, Slipping Out of Bloom, has garnered praise in Book/Mark: A Quarterly Small Press Review, The Springfield News Sun, and Windhover: A Journal of Christian Literature. Moore likewise writes book reviews, which have appeared online at Rattle and Verse Wisconsin in addition to print journals like Christianity and Literature.
Julie L. Moore is the Writing Center Director and Associate Professor of English at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio, where she lives with her husband John; children, Ashley and Alex; and their beloved black Lab Maggie.
Personal Statement
I grew up in Moorestown, New Jersey, and transformed from Jersey Girl to Heartland Lover when I came to Cedarville College located in rural, southwestern Ohio. I earned my B.A. in English there, then my M.A. in English nearby at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio.
I spent my childhood years filling spiral notebooks with poetry and stories. Despite feeling “called” to write, I became sidetracked by the world of academia and a genuine enjoyment for—as well as the work load required by—teaching. In my mid-thirties, however, I realized I might die without ever fulfilling my dream of writing a book. Panic-driven and poetry-inspired, I began to read every contemporary poet I could get my hands on. And I kept reading. In 2005, I also participated in the Antioch Writers’ Workshop (AWW), which greatly expanded my creative thinking and writing skills. I’ve continued to participate at AWW and to study poetry in my own time. I consider every writer I read a mentor and the hours spent in reading my life-long education (with no graduation in sight!).
My work thus far explores “place” in its broadest sense. Some poems revel in the wonder of creation or bemoan the damages it’s sustained. Some poems discover connections between the natural world and the spiritual, or emotional, realm. Because of the pain I’ve faced in my own life, some poems search the deep recesses of suffering and all that entails—perseverance and surrender, tough questions and even tougher answers. The poetic exploration of such places yields an abundance of discovery, even if that discovery is merely a reminder of the mysteries inherent in truth and beauty. These are the daunting themes my poetry addresses. And every time I begin to write a poem, intimidation sits on my shoulder, whispering in my ear, “Who do you think you are? This is beyond you. Don’t even try.”