Episode 7 - Where's Your P.G. Wodehouse?: A Conversation with Laura Moulton (Founder of Street Books)

What happens when you put a library on wheels? And how is it that a mobile library can change the way we perceive who literature is meant to be written 'for'? In this episode, I am joined by Laura Moulton who is a writer, educator and the founder of the non-profit organisation, Street Books. Street Books is a mobile library that provides books to marginalised and unhoused communities at the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. Alongside Ben Hodgson, she is the co-writer of a memoir, 'Loaners: The Making of a Street Library' (2021). Originally meant to be a 3-month-long art project, Street Books has developed into a remarkable organisation that creates spaces for conversation, community and connection through books. We discuss how Street Books is changing the narrative around who should have access to literature and who gets to participate in conversations about books. From debates about who the real monster in 'Frankenstein' is to requests for the right translation of Nietzsche's works, the discussions that Street Books invites have transported literary study outside classroom walls. Laura unpicks Street Books' approach towards curating a broad range of texts for their patrons, touching upon the importance of having books that represent diverse experiences and voices – something particularly important today as we're seeing a rise in the censorship of books. As attention spans shorten, Street Books upholds and values the physical book as it invites readers to slow down, to ruminate on the words found on page. We discuss books that represent the experiences of unhoused people, before turning to Laura's own experience co-writing 'Loaners' and her process of reconfiguring the past alongside Ben Hodgson (a formerly unhoused person who is currently a dedicated street librarian). She discusses the blank spaces that punctuated this process of reconstruction and the intricacy of co-authoring a book. Our conversation concludes with Laura's views on how social and governmental organisations can better involve houseless communities within decision-making processes. Ultimately, this episode invites you to challenge preconceptions about who literature should be read by and who should have access to it. It invites you to see books as bridges that connect people across social and geographical boundaries, sparking conversations that can be the beginning of an unexpected relationship. For more information about Laura Moulton, please visit this link: https://www.lauramoulton.org/. Laura is currently running a Substack called 'Truth and Dare' where she shares writing prompts. You can find a link to it here: https://truthanddare.substack.com.