Celebrate “Kirktober”
Support The University Bookman
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
Permanent Things Here and Abroad
The University Bookman has long been concerned with issues of the nature of history and historical memory. We are therefore pleased to present in this issue a major review-essay on historical thinking, by Mark G. Malvasi. Malvasi captures the complexity of the debate,...
Early Modern Queens
“…Leah Redmond Chang lifts the veil on three of the most important (female or otherwise) figures of the Renaissance: Mary, Queen of Scots, Catherine de Medici, and Catherine’s daughter, Elisabeth de Valois.”
The Waters of Ius and Freedom
“[Hawley] attempts to convince us that Cicero is an invaluable resource for an introduction to Western philosophy. He is the true republican symbol that links the common liberty of popular sovereignty to the private liberty of individuals.”
Gateway to the Dissident Right
“…MacIntyre explains how the COVID lockdowns and 2020 riots made America unrecognizable to him, prompting study into thinkers of more hard-nosed questions of power relationships. A conventional understanding of America’s Constitution as protecting against arbitrary government power did not explain what was really happening, hence a question: ‘what if the story our leaders have repeated endlessly about liberal democracy and popular sovereignty has actual served to expand the power of the state to unprecedented levels, all while assuring the ruled that they live in an era of freedom unlike any that’s ever been experienced?’ From this paradox, MacIntyre advances his understanding of the ‘total state.’”