Julie Poole is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. She received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s of fine arts in poetry from the University of Texas. She has received fellowship and grant support from the Michener Center for Writers, PEN Writers Fund, and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. Her work can be found in the Texas Observer, Texas Monthly, Yes! Magazine, Scalawag, and The Nation. She is the author of “Bright Specimen,” a book of poems. Her essay on caregiving will appear in the forthcoming anthology “Going for Broke: Living on the Edge in the World’s Richest Country.” As a 2023 National Fellow, Poole will be writing about a Texas Medicaid policy that excludes spouses from receiving payment while serving as caregivers.

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