“Welcome, friends,
for friends we may soon be."
foundeR of the Orphan Wisdom School
Stephen Jenkinson
MTS, MSW
He is a culture activist and ceremony man, practitioner of the eloquence of tongue and hand. He is an author, a storyteller, a musician, sculptor, raconteur and off-grid organic farmer. He has performed and taught internationally, published seven books, and made a public life as an advocate of conscious living and dying.
Founded in 2010
Orphan Wisdom
Orphan Wisdom is the home of Stephen's writing and teaching work. For fourteen years the Orphan Wisdom School convened semi-annually in the Ottawa Valley, Canada and in Wales, the U.K. and Iceland. Orphan Wisdom is a project of cultural critique and restoration. It is rooted in knowing history, in disciplined inquiry, being claimed by ancestry, working for a better day we may not likely see.
Latest book
Matrimony
Available in Audiobook and Paperback
A book about the redemptive power for culture making lying in wait in the tamed confines of the wedding ceremony.
The Living Orphan Wisdom Archive
The Scriptorium is the living archive of Orphan Wisdom—an online space built to house and preserve Stephen Jenkinson’s oeuvre. It is part library, part curatorial workshop, part gathering place. Here you’ll find transcriptions, audio and video recordings, unreleased talks, and space for dialogue. Through the Scriptorium, the scholar-led community continues the labour of care for these teachings, offering access, interpretation, and connection to the echoes of Jenkinson’s work.
Upcoming Events
Orphan Wisdom hosts a variety of learning events throughout the year — live online sessions, in-person gatherings at the Scriptorium, and small circles devoted to story, craft, and conversation. Each event is an opportunity to explore the themes of culture, ancestry, and belonging that are hallmarks of the work of Orphan Wisdom. View our full calendar here.
Latest News
Read all news here
The Jesus Session
Tumblings Down
Audio clips in the Scriptorium Library
A Series of Films
Several films have been made about Orphan Wisdom and Stephen Jenkinson, such as the documentary Griefwalker, and several short films, including Lost Nation Road, and Still, and many more. View the full work here:
Music
Words and music: they are the warp and weft of the Grief/Mystery project. Now there are high-fidelity recordings of the best of what’s been conjured by the Jenkinson/Hoskins fellowship. Beyond genre, beyond dogma, these records are the heart’s companions.
First, there were the original live and studio recordings from the internationally acclaimed stand-and-deliver, tent show revival Nights of Grief and Mystery, a fine distillation of the decade-long collaboration of Stephen Jenkinson (recitation) and Gregory Hoskins (music). Then came the depth and the detail of tour-tested Dark Roads/Rough Gods.
After all this time in the trenches, the tempering of age and fury has conjured a new double LP, due out in 2026. For this fourth record, we’re wondering on love.