In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

ix Acknowledgments This volume was inspired by the work of Gale Carrithers Jr., a Renaissance man whose career and life epitomized the ideals of a liberal arts education. It would not have been possible without the commitment of Bainard Cowan, Gale’s colleague at Louisiana State University, who first proposed the volume and solicited some of the essays, and I extend my deepest thanks to him. When I agreed to carry the project forward and engaged the authors whose work appears between these covers , I was heartened by their willingness to contribute, and I thank them for their engagement with Gale’s work and their advancement of his intellectual project. Their contributions bear witness to the success of Gale’s primary goal of fostering intellectual community. Gale’s influence on my own scholarly career began when I was a graduate student at the University of Toronto in 1974 just beginning my work on John Donne’s sermons. I recall vividly my first reading of Donne at Sermons: A Christian Existential World and the sensitivity and intelligence of the mind I encountered there. I went on to build a scholarly reputation as an expert on these sermons, but such a thing would have been impossible had I not digested that volume’s contents and vision. In the early 1980s, when the John Donne Society was conceived, I acquired a circle of friends and colleagues who shared my interest in Donne (though rarely my interest in sermons), and was grateful to have Gale as a kindred spirit, supporter, and friend. His works co-written with Jim Hardy confirmed his reputation as an engaging, thoughtful , and generous commentator on Renaissance literature. The collaborative nature of their scholarship is something to which I aspire. I would also like to thank Susan Wadsworth-Booth, director of Duquesne University Press, for her encouragement, her constructive criticisms, and the acuity of her insights. Copyeditor Kathleen McLaughlin handled her task efficiently and professionally, improving the volume in innumerable ways and preventing many errors. It is always a pleasure to work with such humane and professional editors. I am grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for funding my research program , and, in particular, for allowing me the assistance of two very fine student scholars: Anne James (University of Alberta) and Karl Persson (University of British Columbia). The Humanities Research Institute of the University of Regina also provided a subvention to assist with publication of this volume. The John Donne Society remains my principal intellectual community, and I thank those who continue to energize and support me through it, particularly Tom Hester, Dennis Flynn, Gary Stringer, and Dayton Haskin. Finally, I extend thanks once more to my husband, Ken Mitchell, who has helped in more ways than he knows. My children, Andrew and Julia, remain bemused by my engagement with Renaissance literature, tolerant of the time and energy it consumes in our lives, and proud of my accomplishments . If I have achieved any balance in my life, the credit is due to them. x Acknowledgments ...

Share