SojoMail - Read this if you’re letting the soft animal of your body love what it loves

View this email in your browser By Betsy Shirley Editor in Chief, Sojourners We’ve got an unofficial Mary Oliver fan club here at Sojourners. One of my colleagues calls Oliver “the patron saint of paying attention.” Another colleague has a bumper sticker on her car that says, “Honk if you’re letting the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” I keep a framed print by my desk inspired by Oliver’s poem “First Snow.” Which is a way of saying: We were delighted to learn there’s a new Mary Oliver documentary, out now in select theaters (and don’t worry—it will be widely available on PBS after August 25). In her review, film columnist Abby Olcese admits that Oliver’s poetry with its wild geese and grasshoppers and admonitions to be astonished can feel “preposterously sentimental” at first blush. But while Oliver may seem like an ethereal earth mother, untethered from the real world, there’s more to her poetry—and Oliver herself—than we often give her credit for. For example, I was surprised to learn that Oliver smoked profusely, had a painful childhood, and was once bitten by a beaver while trying to help it build a dam (Note to self: Do not interfere with other soft animals, however cute they may appear). Elsewhere this week: Georgia Coley defends calling herself a “queer Christian” after a recent op-ed in The New York Times stirred up controversy. There’s a new film about Dante Alighieri’s struggle to write his epic poem, but, um, abandon all hope ye who enter there. One of our editorial assistants is thinking about God’s word to Elijah while living in a city where military planes regularly roar overhead. And finally, we have sad news about the death of child advocate and theologian R.L. Stollar, who leaves behind a “a legacy of tenacious and occasionally combustive activism.” Mary Oliver Was More Complex Than Her Most Quoted Poetry A new documentary explores the hard-won life experience behind Oliver’s deceptively simple poetry. Read the full article Advertisement Our Latest Stories I’m a Christian. Here’s Why I Still Call Myself ‘Queer’ (by Georgia Coley) As followers of Jesus, we should be skeptical of calls to gatekeep our movement, even when it means being misunderstood. Read more A New Dante Movie Gets Lost In Hell (by Tim Brinkhof) Even with solid performances from Oscar Isaac and Martin Scorsese(!) the new neo-noir drama ‘In the Hand of Dante’ doesn’t grasp the poet at its center. Read more But God Was Not in the Sonic Boom (by Ethan Meyers) Two years after attending a Fourth of July airshow, our editorial assistant Ethan Meyers can't hear a fighter jet fly overhead without thinking of how the biblical prophet Elijah might react. Read more R.L. Stollar’s Death Leaves Complicated Legacy as a Child’s Rights Theologian (by Mitchell Atencio) Stollar’s peers say he was a tenacious advocate but a prickly and unreliable ally to the movement he supported. Read more Advertisements NEW: Throughlines Resource for Group Study of Healing Haunted Histories Bridge the gap between learning about injustice and taking action. Throughlines is a new ten-session curriculum by Elaine Enns and Ched Myers that invites Christians to confront the ghosts of settler colonialism, Indigenous displacement, and white supremacy in their own family and communal histories. Use code SOJOSAVE40 to save 40%. Action Alert: End the Blockade Against Cuba Join us now to contact Congress and demand an end to hostilities against Cuba. In this moment, we must follow the best traditions of our faith and extend our hand to Cuba in love and charity. Demand that we start true diplomatic talks paired with natural disaster aid for the island while respecting the Cuban people’s right to determine their own government. Donate Subscribe Copyright © 2026 Sojourners. All rights reserved. 611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #342, Washington, DC 20003 Email: sojourners@sojo.net | Tel.: 202.328.8842