Celebrate “Kirktober”

Support The University Bookman 

Support this “Jewel of a Journal”

Since it was founded by Russell Kirk six decades ago, The University Bookman has continued to examine the most important books of our time. Here we offer clear and reflective book reviews in light of the “permanent things” that constitute the best of Western civilization. We do so for general readers across the United States and the world—those who, while not specialists, are interested in higher culture and the life of the mind and spirit.

But our work is only made possible by the generous donations of our friends and readers.

For the first and only time this year, we are asking for your support in order to raise $20,000 for operating costs. This amount will cover publishing expenses through the spring of 2025. 

What will these funds be used for?

  • To pay reviewers (average monthly expense is $1,200)
  • To cover website hosting costs, email service, webinar costs, and production software costs
  • For our communication staff’s work

The editors nobly volunteer their time for the good of the cause. And some reviewers forgo their honorarium to stretch the journal’s bandwidth. All contributions go towards the direct costs of running the journal.

As you may know, October has been nicknamed “Kirktober” by some Russell Kirk readers in honor of his birthday on October 19. And the Book Gallery hosts a lively discussion focused on Kirk’s supernatural fiction each October. We hope to be able to announce that the goal of $20,000 has been reached by All Soul’s Day. At that successful conclusion, we will release an audio recording of a Kirk short story as read by one of his former literary assistants.

Longtime reader Jack Fowler remarked:

“As our culture is buffeted by attacks from Marxists and ideologues and the foes of civil order, intent on the destruction of the American Project, conservatism has a pressing need for meaningful and reasoned examination of the principles that underwrite a free society. The University Bookman, an old and wise friend, a jewel, has never been more needed than now. A dedicated platform for the discussion of new books that deserve a hearing in the public square, University Bookman is a place of sanity and intelligence and honesty.”

By making a contribution, you join this important endeavor to renew our culture and redeem our time.

The University Bookman is the online journal of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity. All donations are tax-deductible.

To make a donation through direct deposit or a donor advised fund, contact info@kirkcenter.org.

If you would like to donate by check to support the University Bookman, please send it to:
The Russell Kirk Center
P.O. Box 4
Mecosta, Michigan 49332

 Read More Bookman Articles

The Collapse of Constitutional Consciousness

The Collapse of Constitutional Consciousness

“…Huq sees a pattern of injustice where those who ‘bridle against government regulation tend to have an easy glide path into federal court,’ while those who contend that individual rights have been violated find the courts ‘less hospitable.’ He asks meaningful questions about the nature of justice and whether the Constitution supports a just society, yet he subordinates the procedural and structural elements of the Constitution, which give it a backbone and endow it with its strength, to ideological notions of fairness, equity, and cherry-picked rights. He misses the irony in that the very qualities he claims to champion are lost in any system that fails to adhere to procedural norms, including those which set limits to remedies by those acting on behalf of the government.”

Localism is Americanism

Localism is Americanism

“In this fine collection of essays there is not so much as a single hint that any sort of top down solution is the answer, much less a top down solution that requires either a big government or a political figure with something between near-dictatorial and dictatorial power. For localists, it’s bottom up all the way.”

A Theological Virtue in the Earthly City

A Theological Virtue in the Earthly City

“Through the lens of hope, Lamb shows how Augustine allows individuals to belong to the City of God and the Earthly City simultaneously, since all worldly concerns and endeavors are shaped by the love of God and contribute to man’s proper end of union with Him.”