The Spikes Protect Our Tender Hearts

Host Mary Mancini sits down with poet and artist Christine Hall. 

Christine was raised in a trailer at the edge of the Adirondacks by troubadours and cultist pornographers. Inculcated with American mythology—tool girl calendars, bible stories, science fiction—she built on this education while hitching across the continent.

Before she set off on her travels she was a teenager at Lucy’s trying to find her way out of a difficult and painful childhood. Christine found Lucy’s to be a safe space and her story has a happy ending, but the safety she found inside didn’t always prevent her from acting out her trauma in dangerous and self-destructive ways on the outside.

Now at home in the Nashville arts community, Christine hosts the Poetry in the Brew open mic. Her work has appeared in Out & About Nashville, several anthologies including Sinew (April Gloaming Publishing, 2021), Be About It zine, on MTA buses, and on stages with the Yoni Pearl Monologues, Cabaret Noir Collective, TSU, Third Man Records, and OZ Arts. 

This episode comes with a content warning. We talk about self-harm, and suicide, as well as the trauma brought on by religious indocrination. If you’re in need of resources or support, please go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The Lifeline provides free and confidential support for anyone in distress and prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones 24/7. If you live outside the U.S., look for the local resources in your community.

Mentioned in this Episode

Mother Hubbard

Brazen youth

Teen idols

Fun Girls From Mt. Pilot

The Swindlers

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