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I have never met William R. Jones, and I have interacted with Theophus Smith (the subject of chapter 7) on a single occasion, where I queried him on the role of Rene Girard in his text. My relationship with Charles H. Long is more substantial. David Carrasco, Long's former student at the University of Chicago, introduced him to me when I was a graduate student at Princeton University. Carrasco had invited Long to lecture at Princeton in the hope that a center could be established that would archive and preserve his work. I still recall the rhetorical effect of Long's cryptic phrase, "the imagination of matter," that had a kind of incantatory power until I acquired a fuller sense of its meaning within the phenomenological tradition in which he worked. Aware that Long once held a dual appointment in religious studies at the University of North Carolina and at Duke University, I sought his advice regarding a job offer from Duke and its suitability for a person such as me. I will not share his advice but am thankful for his wisdom, candor, and clairvoyance. No doubt, he has made a far greater impression on me than I have on him. We are casual acquaintances. In stark contrast, my relationship with Cornel West, the subject of this chapter, is both personal and professional. He is both mentor and friend.

DOI: 10.1057/9780230118713_6

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