E83- when to Hold the Line

A Conversation with Holly Smith

In this Short Fuse episode, Holly Smith, a volunteer and board member at Big House Books in Jackson, Mississippi, is in conversation with Elizabeth Howard. They talk about the mission of Big House Books—to package and send books to individuals held in prison complexes throughout Mississippi. Smith believes that books and reading are a way “to hold the line,” a way to combat the hopelessness of life on the inside. America's carceral system is dedicated to constricting the physical body, to controlling every moment of an individual's daily routine. But prisons cannot confine the mind or kill the soul of the imagination. Throughout their conversation, Smith reads letters from people on the inside requesting books.

The Short Fuse Podcast  hosted by Elizabeth Howard, are conversations with artists, writers, musicians, and others who have a lens on contemporary thought and stir us to seek change. Through their art, music, performances, and singular vision they lead us through the social and environmental transformations sweeping across the globe. Gerald Kent, a musician and audio engineer based in Cape Town, South Africa, is the producer of the Short Fuse..

“Artists are here to disturb the peace.” James Baldwin.

The Short Fuse is distributed through the Arts Fuse, a journal of arts criticism and commentary.