Caroline Rosenstone Memorial Scholarship Fund

Caroline Rosenstone inspired generations of writing students at the Educational Center for the Arts (ECA), the regional afternoon high school program on Audubon Street in New Haven. Rosenstone founded the creative writing program at ECA in 1984 and was its director for 35 years, leading writing workshops and providing one-on-one guidance until her retirement in 2019.

Caroline cultivated a warm and inviting environment within the ECA Writing Department, helming nonfiction and humor writing workshops that left indelible impressions upon her students. Beloved for her effusiveness and enthusiasm, she filled her classroom with coos, gasps of delight and her signature, “Fabulous!” as students read their essays aloud. Caroline modeled a generous creative spirit and unlocked the power of the written word in invaluable ways for impressionable high schoolers.

“Caroline was a natural-born teacher, with a truly boundless energy, relentlessly cheerful and curious, engaging and encouraging. She introduced me to writers I might never have discovered otherwise and then patiently showed me how to emulate them,” New Yorker food critic Hannah Goldfield, who got her start in Rosenstone’s program, wrote in an email message.

Author Natalie Beach dedicated her book of personal essays, Adult Drama (HarperCollins), to Rosenstone, whose memoir class introduced Beach to the essay form.

“I don’t think, with the exception of my writer parents, any person was as instrumental with me falling in love with the personal essay. … She took the personal trauma of our lives extremely seriously. I owe so much to her,” said Beach.

Caroline was also an accomplished published writer. Her poetry, essays and humorous writing appeared in many publications, including “Savvy,” “The Massachusetts Review,” “New Boston Review,” “Poets On: Celebrations,” “California Quarterly” and “Ms,” and she sold comedy material to Joan Rivers. Her stage monologues were also published and performed in theaters in Connecticut and New York City.

Adapted from the New Haven Independent article, "Influential Writing Mentor Dies," and Rosentone's obituary.