Stephen Jenkinson | Brushes with Death

I met and interviewed poet, storyteller and grief counsellor Stephen Jenkinson during his 2018 ”Nights of Grief and Mystery”-tour in the UK (listen to that episode here). I had taken the train from Stockholm to Portsmouth to see him, and it was a two-day affair to get there. I used the travel time to re-read portions of his book Die Wise, and to formulate a whole lot of questions for our meeting.

We had ample time, an hour and a half, for the interview, but still I only got through about a third of my questions. So, a couple of months after our initial meeting, I decided to reach out again, to schedule a followup.

In this resulting podcast episode the topics range from palliative care, to death phobia, to burial practices, and the meat industry. We also hear Jenkinson describe some of his own brushes with death, and what they’ve done to his relationship with life.

Carl Jung famously said: ”Death is psychologically just as important as birth”. What a treat then to have Stephen Jenkinson on the line. Someone with a deeper understanding than most on the mysteries of those bookends that we call ”birth” and ”death”. And more importantly, on what a proper understanding of those bookends can mean for that which lies between them. You know, that thing we sometimes somewhat carelessly refer to as ”our life”.

Links

Stephen Jenkinson is on the road again in 2023. Click here for a full list of all of his engagements.
Check out Ian MacKenzie’s short film Lost Nation Road about Stephen Jenkinson, Gregory Hoskins and the Nights of Grief and Mystery show.
If you’re in Järna, Sweden on aug 16th 2023, don’t miss our Campfire Stories event – a live podcast recording with Stephen Jenkinson.
Also, if you live near Malmö, Sweden I hope you can make it to the Aug 14th 2023 Nights of Grief and Mystery.