Marianne Williamson is famous in that way where you either know deeply who she is, or you have no idea.
On a recent Saturday in a bright, narrow room in Iowa, Williamson — striking at 66, in a cream turtleneck under a dark velvet blazer — stood and watched as a thirtysomething man in jeans told a crowd of about 30 Jefferson County Democrats that, until he was asked to introduce Williamson at this event, he'd never heard of her.
This introduction was, as you can imagine, a little light on details, but hit the key points: Williamson is running for the Democratic nomination for president; she often speaks about spirituality in a way that departs from your average political discourse. He left out, however, how central Williamson has been to the development of a certain brand of American spirituality, particularly beginning in the New Age '90s.
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