Three years after her death, a Ridgewood writer’s influence grows

Carolyn Bush was killed at her Ridgewood apartment in 2016. Friends say her legacy lives on in countless meaningful ways. Photo courtesy of Pamela Tinnen

By David Brand

They remember her for her wisdom; her preternatural calm and confidence, even as an 18-year-old college freshman. They recall her idiosyncrasies — a once unique passion for astrology and mysticism that they soon absorbed and still carry with them. And most of all they cherish the memories of a “powerful” and “brilliant” young woman who carried herself with a poise and self possession that attracted friends and inspired confidence in those around her.  

Friends of Carolyn Bush, an artist and writer killed in September 2016, continue to embrace her memory and say they feel her influence in their daily lives. Bush was stabbed to death in her Ridgewood apartment, allegedly by her roommate. Trial for Render Stetson-Shanahan, the man who police and prosecutors say killed Bush, wraps up today in Queens Criminal Court. 

Bush’s close friends say they are bothered by the media coverage that followed Bush’s violent murder, attention that seemed to focus more on Stetson-Shanahan, a young artist from a wealthy family who said in interviews that mental illness drove him to kill. His attorney did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Over the past three years, friends say, Bush’s influence has only grown. There is tangible evidence of her legacy, like a powerful poem about her impact and a grant for innovative poets presented by the literary organization Wendy’s Subway. Bush, a creative writer and poet, was a founding member of Wendy’s Subway and poured herself into her work there. 

“The poetry and essays she left us are densely allusive, hybrid in forms, galvanized by her concern with social and political justice, and alive with the curiosity and irreverence for which she was famous and beloved,” She loved truth-tellers, and was one.”

Bush’s friends say her legacy also lives on in countless personal ways. 

“She just had a clarity and wisdom that was way beyond her years,” said Bush’s best friend Pamela Tinnen, who is seven years older than Bush. “There was a calmness of being around her because she had comfort in her own skin that was contagious.”

“She was like that since she was 14,” Tinnen said. “I remember reading her college essays and at the time I was 23 and I’m thinking, “How the hell did you write this.” 

Bush’s friends say she was brilliant and confident in way that inspired those around her. Photos courtesy of Pamela Tinnen

“She was brilliant, a genius by all accounts, but she'd never make you feel stupid because she was never not making you laugh even if it was something serious you were talking about,” Tinnen added. “Her sense of humor could breakthrough even the most guarded person ... To say her smile lit up a room doesn't come close to doing it justice; it was joy incarnate, her laughter contagious. infectious. You just wanted to be around her, no matter what you were feeling, being with her, you'd feel good. At peace. Content.”

Ally Davis, a friend of Bush’s from Bard College who also lives in Ridgewood, said Bush was insightful and enjoyed her alone time, but was also profoundly funny, with a dry sense of humor. 

“The energy she had she seemed more like a woman when we were just girls,” Davis said of their freshman year at Bard.

“She was such a powerful person,” Davis said. “She was the kind of person you’d think could be invincible.”

Danielle Sinay, another friend from Bard, said Bush seemed to possess an “ancient wisdom” and an innate ability to calm those around her with compassion, including friends who had just gone through breakups. The two friends met as freshmen at Bard and Bush embraced Sinay, helping to shore up her confidence and sense of belonging in the new environment.

Bush co-founded the literary organization Wendy’s Subway. Photo courtesy of Pamela Tinnen

“I started Bard this really confused girl,” Sinay said. “She spoke to me very matter of factly and it meant a lot to me to be respected by someone who I really respected and who was so brilliant.”

“I feel like she was 80 in her soul and she was an 18-year-old, but she was just really brilliant and intelligent. She was a powerful person,” she added. 

Bush used to burn sage in her dorm room — a scent that Sinay said still reminds her of her friend. After Bush’s death, Sinay carried a can of ground up sage with her and scattered the bits at Blithewood Garden, a picturesque piece of the Bard campus that overlooks the Hudson River. “It was my way of saying goodbye to her,” Sinay said.

A few years later, Sinay got married at Blithewood and brought the can to the ceremony.

“I took the can so Carolyn could be there too,” she said.