Dear friends of Liberty:
It is with a heavy heart that we share sad news and an unwelcome update: Liberty editor Stephen Cox has passed away.
Of course, to say Stephen was just our editor is to vastly understate his role in shaping this journal. He has been at its center from its very first day till now: planning it alongside our founder Bill Bradford, contributing words and expertise to every single issue, and filling the impossible chair left after Bill’s own untimely passing.
A full obituary is on the way, as well as info about Liberty’s future directions. In the meantime, if you have reminiscences to share about Stephen or reflections on his work—whether with Liberty or in any of the wide variety of intellectual conversations he contributed to—please get in touch via the comments here or at letters@libertyunbound.com.
In Liberty,
Andrew Ferguson
Managing Editor
I’m very sorry to hear this, I used to really enjoy his columns in Liberty Magazine.
I can’t believe it. I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. Steve was a mentor and dear friend. He was my professor at UC San Diego 35 years ago. We kept in touch and corresponded regularly. My last email from him was the morning of September 6, the day he died. I had emailed him a couple of weeks ago. He was always good about responding to me quickly. When he didn’t, I knew something was wrong. I just found out an hour ago. I will miss his wit and wisdom. I learned something new every time he wrote. He leaves a great body of work, but also a void that will be impossible to fill. Rest in peace, Professor. I’ll miss you.
There are certain writers – Mike Royko, Lewis Grizzard, P J O’Rourke come to mind – whom I never met but felt like I knew from reading what they had to say. Stephen was another. To me, his hilarious Word Watch pieces were unparalleled in their breadth of cultural knowledge and the wit with which he skewered the pretentious and the stupid who, more often than not, turned out to be the same person.
Our only contact was the more than two decades of emails we exchanged while he was editor of Liberty, and I a sometimes author. Often, he knew more about the topic than I did and could reject sentences, paragraphs and, at times, entire pieces with more kindness than I deserved.
All of which made me seem like a better writer than I am.
Something else about Stephen, something I could glimpse the outlines of but never the scope, was his immense ability to work. Not only did he edit Liberty, along with every piece I ever sent in, he edited every piece everybody else ever sent in while balancing a second career as professor of English at UC San Diego, writing numerous scholarly articles, and a third career as the author of several full-length books. Stephen was 76 when he died but, by my reckoning, put in 228 years of living. May the rest of us do as well.
I also met Stephen about 35 years ago at UC San Diego. I’ve been reading his Liberty columns and occasionally corresponding with him ever since. I will really miss both of those things. Word Watch was always fun to read and his obituaries showed such insight and appreciation. My condolences to his close friends and family. What a loss.
Drew,
Please include a photo of Stephen in your proposed obit. This is one instance that calls for it.
Robert H. Miller
Stephen Cox was one of the few writers who could consistently make me stop and think after reading each paragraph. I will always remember him when a restaurant employee asks me if I’m still “working on” my meal or when I hear incorrect usage of the word “incredibly”.
Just heard the sad news of Dr. Cox’s passing. He had a great influence on my career. Here are a few words about our connection: https://mattspivey.substack.com/p/the-passing-of-a-mentor
I am devastated to learn of Stephen’s passing. I’ve written movie reviews and reflections for Liberty for nearly 25 years. I loved working with Bill Bradford and looked forward to his jovial conversations full of pithy facts and libertarian esoterica. When he died, I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue as Liberty’s entertainment editor. Those conversations with Bill were the reason I wrote.
And then I met Stephen. What a profound influence and great friend he became! With Stephen there were no jovial phone conversations; instead, we *corresponded,* as the Victorians did. He was so kind, generous and encouraging in so many aspects of my life. And he edited as a teacher would, asking questions rather than offering rewrites. I became a more precise writer, and a more encouraging teacher, because of him.
But more than that, Stephen became one of my dearest friends. I remember during Covid (in California), sneaking into an illegally open restaurant for a clandestine lunch, and his gleeful enjoyment of our face-to-face meeting. A few months ago, Strephen noticed I hadn’t written for a while and asked how I was doing. I was facing a couple of surgeries and also grieving the loss of a friend. I wrote:
“ Thank you for asking about me and for sending your prayers. My friend who died was the person who was always there in the middle of the night. I appreciate that you, too, are that kind of friend. Thank you for asking— it never feels like prying.”
He responded with this lovely note, so typical of his modesty:
“ Oh, thank you for the beautiful thing you said about me! I am certainly here for you, around the clock—and I hope you will let me know about any thoughts, feelings, or experiences you feel like sharing. I will never share them with anyone else.”
On September 3 we worked together on my review of the movie“Reagan.” It was the last article he edited for Liberty. As we made the final edits, he told me he was headed to the airport. I told him I hoped he was going somewhere fun. That was our final correspondence. I have no doubt that Heaven is a more joyful place, now that Stephen is there.
I will miss Stephen Cox for the rest of my life.
God bless my dear friend and mentor Stephen
I subscribed to the print magazine over 20 years ago and read it from cover to cover every issue. I don’t know what any of you look like but I know you all by your writing. My condolences to you all and to Mr. Cox’s family.
Stephen, you are deeply missed. You helped me so much. For those who share his faith, I want to share a hymn that he sent me in 2023:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDni97ggNSc
Stephen may have thought I am being too melodramatic here, but Isaiah 57:1 does come to mind when I think of him now.