Kirktober 2026

“The Federalist party, of course, is no more. It barely lasted past the fiftieth anniversary of American independence. But, as Russell Kirk demonstrated throughout his work, its conservative vision remains one of the most profound expressions of the meaning of the American Founding itself. Its adherents cannot simply be dismissed as retrograde aristocrats—they were patriots who understood that ‘order is the first need of all.’”

“How did this fifty-year period and 33-year separation shape West Berlin into a city? How did the identity of this city evolve over time from simply being the Allied stronghold in Communist territories into a flourishing city in its own right? And what were the limitations that this identity imposed on the city’s day-to-day existence and its local culture?”

“But there is nothing new about the ‘spiritual but not religious’ crowd: they are, in a certain, degraded sense, merely the spiritual and intellectual heirs of the occult revivalists who popped up in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries…”

“These letters further confirm that Bloom, a guardian of our Western literary heritage, was one of the most important minds of the past half century.”

“The humanities are necessary, Keilen argues, for us to function as a society. Education should come through reading the great works of literature, and, in the English language, Shakespeare is among the greatest teachers.”

“The language and style are vivid and elegant all throughout, and the stories have a timeless quality that works on multiple levels.”

“…Belloc remains a draught of fresh air and a happy antidote to the official version of English national history, with its idealized tale of public-spirited reforms and liberal advances broadening down to the happy present.”

“Academic and popular history of the period has long noted the early intimidation and violence that accompanied the rise of an American political consciousness and revolutionary movement.”