A Ritual is a Container: Flowers For Linda Ep. 4 with Caroline Rothstein
Losing her brother unexpectedly as a teen, writer and performer Caroline Rothstein leaned on Jewish ritual to survive. The poetry of her faith now finds its way into every area of her life — inspired by death.
Dear friends,
Allow me to open a short and sweet entryway into this new conversation that I am so proud to share with you: My friend, Caroline Rothstein, a do-it-all creative spirit (poet, performer, journalist, activist, producer!) on Episode 4 of the FLOWERS FOR LINDA audiozine.
After my mother died, my friend Caroline invited me out to lunch, where I asked her to share how the Jewish faith carried her through identity-shaking loss. What were the containers that supported her? What could I glean and gather to apply in my own deep wrestling?
Turns out, quite a bit. That conversation illuminated my psyche, it helped me create the rituals I needed.
In this heart to heart, Caroline pulls back the curtain again, introducing us to her brother Josh in his playful spirit form, and sharing two profoundly moving poems that prove it is possible to transmute grief into powerful testimonial art.
Grief is sad, but that is not all it is. One of the most striking aspects of this episode is it’s levity, humor and love. Who knew talking about death could be inspirational? Fun, even?
You know the deal. Don’t be stingy. Share the medicine as needed.
Tune in on Anchor.fm, or search “Flowers For Linda” on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Here is to our beloved dead!
CAROLINE ROTHSTEIN is an internationally touring and acclaimed writer, poet, and performer. She has been performing poetry, public speaking, facilitating workshops and teaching at colleges, schools, performance venues, and community organizations for over a decade.
Her work has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, The Guardian, BuzzFeed, NYLON, Narratively, The Forward, and elsewhere. Caroline and her work have been featured widely including in The New Yorker, MTV News, Chicago Tribune, CBS Evening News, BuzzFeed News, HuffPost, Mic, and Newsweek. Caroline lives in New York City. Read Caroline’s full bio here.
For more of Caroline’s work and to stay in touch, you can visit her website, join her quarterly newsletter, and/or follow her on social media (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube), where she shares two weekly video series: “Touch Base Tuesdays” and “Behind the Poem.”
