Stephen Cox, RIP

David Kelley

We are deeply sad to learn that Stephen Cox died last month. He was Professor of Literature at the University of California, San Diego. He was also a dear friend and colleague who contributed often to TAS publications and events.

In 1993, for the 50^th anniversary of The Fountainhead organized by The Atlas Society (then the Institute for Objectivist Studies), I wrote a philosophical piece on Ayn Rand’s novel but I also wanted a literary perspective and asked Steve. He gave a great talk, which you can find on the TAS site: The Literary Achievement of The Fountainhead. Both our talks are included in The Literary Art of Ayn Rand (2nd edition).

Steve contributed many other articles for TAS and spoke at our annual Summer Seminar, in addition to his many other writings on literature, politics, and wherever else his interests led him. Most recently he was an active participant in the Research Workshop, a discussion group on advanced issues in Objectivism, which I co-manage with Raymond Raad and David Ross. As David observed,

This is very sad news. I first met Stephen at the Fountainhead celebration David mentioned; he gave a wonderful talk. And he and I chatted about Rand, New York City, and McKim, Mead, and White afterward. His wit, charm, and insight have added much to the Research Workshop. Ray and I had the good fortune to get to know him better, and to benefit from his truly amazing knowledge of literature, literary theory, and culture last semester when he helped organize the sessions on esthetics. I’ll miss him.

In addition to his contributions to TAS programs and publications, Steve was a valued personal friend and advisor. I spoke with him regularly by phone or in person; more than once over the years, he gave me personal and professional advice that I have always remembered because he cut to the essential issue in any struggle I might have had.

Steve was a prominent intellectual in the libertarian movement. The movement has been dominated by economists, philosophers, and other specialists; Stephen was in a minority of literary experts, who recognized the important role of novelists like Ayn Rand and Isabel Patterson, both of whom Stephen wrote about. 

His contributions in that regard were immense. For a fuller picture of Steve’s impact and character, we are grateful to his good friend Chris Sciabarra, who wrote a lovely, heart-felt tribute to Stephen, for permission to republish it below.

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RIP Stephen Cox, 1948-2024, October 1, 2024

Late last month, I learned that my dear friend and longtime colleague, Stephen D. Cox, died on September 6, 2024. I knew Stephen for more than thirty years.

A literary and cultural historian, Stephen was Professor of Literature and Director of the Humanities Program at the University of California, San Diego. He was also a libertarian who wrote much on the history of classical liberalism, including a wonderful biography of Isabel Paterson, The Woman and the Dynamo: Isabel Paterson and the Idea of America (2004). He was a senior editor of Liberty magazine when it was founded in 1987 and became editor-in-chief in 2005, upon the passing of its founder—another very dear friend, Bill Bradford.

Stephen’s publication history is noteworthy for its breadth and depth. His early works included literary studies such as “The Stranger Within Thee”: Concepts of the Self in Late-Eighteenth-Century Literature (1980) and Love and Logic: The Evolution of Blake’s Thought (1992). He also published on historical and religious subjects: The Titanic Story: Hard Choices, Dangerous Decisions (1999), The New Testament and Literature: A Guide to Literary Patterns (2006), and American Christianity: The Continuing Revolution (2014). And his book, The Big House: Image and Reality of the American Prison, deals compellingly with the problems of control, institutional power, and sexuality within the American system of incarceration.

Stephen and I first met in 1993 at an event held in Manhattan by the Institute for Objectivist Studies. He was enthusiastic about my original historical research and interpretive perspective on Ayn Rand and offered to provide critical commentary on early drafts of Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical, whose first edition was published in 1995. He’d do the same for Total Freedom: Toward a Dialectical Libertarianism, which was published in 2000. His edits and suggestions improved the final projects immeasurably.

And yet, our professional engagement was far more extensive than that. In 1999, Stephen, Bill Bradford and I became the founding coeditors of The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, the first double-blind peer reviewed scholarly periodical devoted to the study of Ayn Rand’s thought, influence, and legacy. Though Bill died in 2005, Stephen would continue as an editor, peer reader, and contributor to the journal’s pages through its conclusion in 2023.

Over the years, our friendship deepened. We talked often on the phone—and he’d open every email with “Darling!” and I’d reply with “Sweetheart!” He was such a supportive, caring, and loving friend who was there for me through triumphs and tragedies, good times and bad. He always sent his blessings to me, especially during those difficult periods of my life. He was an Episcopalian Christian, whose tidings of joy arrived religiously, every Christmas and Easter, along with a host of lovely hymnals on YouTube. He knew I was baptized Greek Orthodox, so he made sure to send me Easter greetings anytime our Easters differed on the calendar.

Stephen was also gay, and we shared many personal stories through the years. 

We last corresponded a month before he died; he was in great spirits and his wicked sense of humor was on full display.

I truly can’t believe he is gone. This is a devastating loss. My deepest condolences to all those who were blessed to have known him.

Rest in peace, dear friend.

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