Over the summer, the Kirk Center initiated a digital archive project at the Russell Kirk library. Intern Kieran Morgan, a rising senior at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, greatly advanced the first phase of this project by converting many of Russell’s articles from print journals into digital files for our
website’s new online archive.
One of the fruits of Kieran’s labor is this month’s featured essay, “The Constitution and the Antagonist World.” In this essay, Russell examines why the American Republic has succeeded while other countries have been overcome by armed doctrines and, applying Burke’s constitutional principles, he looks to the future prospects for our civil social order. I find much of it speaks to the pressing concerns we are experiencing in our country at the present time.
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While in the library, Kieran took the opportunity to read widely as he plans to become a high school history teacher.
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“Through my internship, I have been reconnected with thinkers from Cicero to T. S. Eliot; my knowledge of the giants who helped to build our culture has grown tremendously. However, the historical figure that has had the greatest impact on me is this organization’s namesake: Russell Kirk. As a historian, social critic, and man of letters, Kirk has not only renewed my passion for learning but introduced me to ideas that are never discussed in a typical classroom. While there are many Kirk ideas and values which I could ramble on about, there are two for which I am the most grateful: the community of souls and the moral imagination.”
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This week, we were able to resume in-person seminars at the Center. Public policy interns from the Acton Institute and the Mackinac Center spent the day discussing the importance in Russell’s thought of the Northwest Ordinance and concepts such as nation, empire, and community with two of our Senior Fellows.
Finally, I’d like to bring to your attention a special piece by George Nash, “Defending the Right and the Good,” which tells the background story of The University Bookman, now in its 60th year. From its earliest issues, it carried essays by distinguished scholars—including Robert Nisbet, Peter Stanlis, and James V. Schall, S.J.—to reviews by promising young people whose first published work appeared in its pages.
We hope you enjoy reading the results of Nash's research for this article and find encouragement from his observation that "The University Bookman’s story exemplifies what can happen when a person of conservative persuasion takes a stand and casts a proverbial pebble into a pond.”
Thank you for your interest in our mission.
Sincerely,
Annette Kirk, President
The Russell Kirk Center
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