#086 A Generation's Worth
Stephen Jenkinson on climate strikes, making music & what now?
Some of you might remember that Stephen Jenkinson was my first guest when this podcast changed name to The RegenNarration, back in episode 35. For those who are newer to the podcast, Stephen’s a special presence in the world – a wonderful lyricist and story teller, teacher and ceremonialist, author and farmer. Our last conversation delved into his new book at the time, Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble, in which the case is made that we must birth a new generation of elders, one poised and willing to be true stewards of the planet and its species. That episode culminated in some of his gripping music and spoken word.
Today we talk more about that art form, for last year he and key collaborator Gregory Hoskins released a studio and accompanying live album – called Rough Gods and Dark Roads, respectively. They were to be toured globally. But we all know what happened then.
Stephen Jenkinson. Pic: supplied.
“I was trying to take the notion of being preordained by the failures of your predecessors, and challenging the preordination by saying that’s not what fate means. In its origin, fate meant, ok there’s a thing called the way it is, that’s the gods having spoken. That includes all the mayhem and the too-late-ness that I was talking about. But it doesn’t foreclose on the question, what shall you do now that the gods have spoken? ”
I’ve had guests and listeners alike speak to me of their respect for Stephen, since he was first on the podcast. So when Stephen’s wife Nathalie reached out to update me on the new releases, I was keen to speak with him again. We dwell deeply in the new music this time, and particularly on one track – called Fate - that’s acutely relevant in the wake of the latest global student climate strike last month. It’s featured in its full 13 minutes at the end of this episode.
More on Stephen: Stephen is the founder of the Orphan Wisdom School in Tramore, Canada and the author of four books, including Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul, the award-winning book about grief and dying, and the great love of life. In 2015, he created Nights of Grief & Mystery with Canadian singer-songwriter Gregory Hoskins. With a 5-piece band, they have mounted international tours and released three albums, most recently DARK ROADS and ROUGH GODS. Most recently, a four-part livestream speaking series, A Generation’s Worth, was presented in Winter 2020. A book of the same name, emerging from that series, is due out soon.
This episode was recorded on Tuesday 24 May 2021 (Australian time), a few days after the most recent global student climate strike.
Click on the photos below (supplied) for full view, and hover over them for descriptions.
Get more:
You can find more from Stephen at his Orphan Wisdom website, the home of his writing and teaching work. It’s described there as ‘a redemptive project that comes from where we come from. It is rooted in knowing history, being claimed by ancestry, working for a time we won’t see’.
Music:
Fate, by Stephen Jenkinson & Gregory Hoskins, from the new Rough Gods album.
Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.