Stephen Jenkinson – a Night of Grief and Mystery

We did this interview with Stephen Jenkinson prior to his performance of A Night of Grief and Mystery in Nelson. Stephen has a wisdom about death and dying that is rare in our death-phobic culture. If you haven’t listened to Stephen speak or perform you are in for a treat – rarely is it possible for us to laugh and cry within the same experience but with Stephen it’s a common occurrence. Here’s what Stephen says about his Night of Grief and Mystery…

Concerts for Turbulent Times they surely are. We aren’t poets, maybe, but the evenings are poetic. They are musical and grave and raucous and stilling, which probably means they are theatrical. They are nights in which love letters to life are written and read aloud. There’s some boldness in them. They have that tone. These nights have the mark of our time upon them, and they’re timely, urgent, alert, steeped in mortal mystery. They’re quixotic. They have swagger. What would you call such a thing?