The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal

The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal The latest news of events and publications from the Kirk Center and The University Bookman.

The American founding, Russell Kirk argued, was not a utopian revolution but an effort to preserve an existing political...
09/03/2026

The American founding, Russell Kirk argued, was not a utopian revolution but an effort to preserve an existing political and cultural order. In his review of "On America: How to Understand the Legacy of 1776" by Russell Kirk, edited by Michael Lucchese, Bruce P. Frohnen examines Kirk’s views on American tradition, statesmanship, literature, and the need for political courage.

“Kirk’s works show we still have reason and the duty to hope and to fight.”

Read Frohnen’s full review on our site: https://buff.ly/yTKhOoR

Russell Kirk saw poetry, fiction, tradition, and restraint as essential to understanding America and preserving its char...
09/01/2026

Russell Kirk saw poetry, fiction, tradition, and restraint as essential to understanding America and preserving its character. In his review of "On America: How to Understand the Legacy of 1776" by Russell Kirk, edited by Michael Lucchese, Christopher J. Scalia explores Kirk’s vision of the American founding, statesmanship, literature, and the enduring ideas that have shaped the republic.

“Kirk’s most important contribution to American conservative thought may have been his serious engagement with poetry and fiction.”

Read Scalia’s full review on our site: https://buff.ly/XthtZaX

Robert Fagles spent his life bringing the great works of the ancient world to modern readers. John Byron Kuhner reflects...
08/29/2026

Robert Fagles spent his life bringing the great works of the ancient world to modern readers. John Byron Kuhner reflects on Fagles’s legacy as a Princeton professor and translator of "The Odyssey," "The Aeneid," and "The Oresteia," and on his conviction that suffering could lead to wisdom, beauty, and meaning.

"It seemed that only a few books mattered to him by this stage, and he wanted to share them with his students..."

Read Kuhner’s full reflection on our site: https://buff.ly/rSSc0JS

It’s been a joy to host scholars from the McConnell Center over the years, and we hope to continue the tradition for man...
08/29/2026

It’s been a joy to host scholars from the McConnell Center over the years, and we hope to continue the tradition for many more!

At the heart of Deneen’s argument is nostos, the ancient Greek idea of homecoming. He explores this concept in "The Amer...
08/28/2026

At the heart of Deneen’s argument is nostos, the ancient Greek idea of homecoming. He explores this concept in "The American Odyssey: What an Ancient Story Reveals about our Divided Souls" by comparing "The Odyssey" alongside "The Wizard of Oz," "Huckleberry Finn," "Field of Dreams," and "It’s a Wonderful Life."

"She is driven by a desire to move beyond the mundane familiarity of a Kansas homestead in search of adventure. Yet only by travelling afar can she discover the centrality of that which she had forsaken—her home—to her humanity."

Read Alexandra Bevins' full review here: https://buff.ly/UcfFGhZ

Political ideas are once again shaping mainstream political discourse. In his review of "Intellectual Conservatism: From...
08/27/2026

Political ideas are once again shaping mainstream political discourse. In his review of "Intellectual Conservatism: From Burke to Scruton," edited by Ferenc Hörcher and Daniel Pitt, S.D. Whatley explores how conservative thinkers have navigated the tension between political theory and practical politics, and why particularity, tradition, and intellectual engagement remain essential to conservative thought.

"Fundamental questions about things such as human nature and political representation are back in vogue. If modernity marked an era in which first principles were ruled out of order, ours marks their return."

Read the review here: https://buff.ly/XsN5fJ2

A few weeks ago, the Russell Kirk Center welcomed participants to our village campus for “The American Political Novel,”...
08/26/2026

A few weeks ago, the Russell Kirk Center welcomed participants to our village campus for “The American Political Novel,” a seminar exploring the connections between politics, literature, and the moral imagination. Dr. David Hein, the Center’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow and author of our new book, "Teaching the Virtues," guided the discussions and offered lectures.

The seminar focused on Robert Penn Warren’s "All the King’s Men," which literary critic Sanford Pinsker called “the best serious novel about politics ever written in America.” Participants explored themes of virtue, vice, power, corruption, and populism.

Arriving from Colorado, Virginia, New York, and other states, the group included undergraduate and law students, professors, and a high school administrator. Participants enjoyed the hospitality of the Russell Kirk family home and the opportunity to study in the Russell Kirk library.

Here’s what participants had to say:

“I had a wonderful weekend in Mecosta, Michigan, at The Russell Kirk Center’s seminar on The American Political Novel. We read and discussed Robert Penn Warren’s All The King’s Men, a novel saturated with political, philosophical, and moral questions. I am so grateful for the insights and new friends that I gained.” - Blake Shiplett

“The Kirk Center is akin to a garden: the mind and soul are watered by the house, library, conversations, and the community formed. If you are searching for a place that values authenticity, truth, and moral courage, you will find a home at the Kirk Center!”

You can find a copy of Hein's book, "Teaching the Virtues" here: https://buff.ly/6q9mL2S

The McConnell Center always brings a wonderful group of students!
08/21/2026

The McConnell Center always brings a wonderful group of students!

Invitation to a one-day conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan"Reclaiming Authentic Conservatism: Russell Kirk and the Roo...
08/21/2026

Invitation to a one-day conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan
"Reclaiming Authentic Conservatism: Russell Kirk and the Roots of American Order"

Across our public life, voices on both the Left and the Right increasingly question whether America’s moral and social inheritance is worth conserving. Can a conservatism in the spirit of Russell Kirk answer those challenges? Can American constitutionalism be renewed? Can the moral imagination and historical consciousness be recovered, restoring the roots of order within both the soul and the Republic?

To explore these questions, the Russell Kirk Center will convene a public conference, “Reclaiming Authentic Conservatism: Russell Kirk and the Roots of American Order,” on September 26 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Bringing together ten distinguished scholars, the conference will examine the foundations of the American order and consider how they may be conserved and strengthened in our own time.

The conference will be held at the historic Sweet House, 254 Fulton Street East, Grand Rapids. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. Included with the registration is lunch and a closing Book Party wine-and-cheese reception to celebrate the publication of the new Russell Kirk collection, "On America: How to Understand the Legacy of 1776."

Learn more and register here: https://buff.ly/qze8Vmo
Students may attend for free!

Presenting scholars include:
*Michael Federici of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU)
*Bradley Watson of Hillsdale College
*Jeff Polet of Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation
*Aaron N. (Nathan) Coleman of University of the Cumberlands
*David Urban of Calvin University
*Dr. Wesley Reynolds, III
*Bruce Frohnen of Ohio Northern University
*Kirstin Anderson Birkhaug of Hope College
*John D. Wilsey of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
*Michael Lucchese of Pipe Creek Consulting LLC

Ben Peterson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Government and Criminal Justice at Abilene Christian University, ...
08/20/2026

Ben Peterson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Government and Criminal Justice at Abilene Christian University, has published a new book as a result of his Fellowship at the Russell Kirk Center titled, Community, Character, and the Governance of the Social Commons: Sanctuaries of Order (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026).

As Ben notes in the introduction, “The idea for a book came to me in summer 2022 in the village of Mecosta, Michigan, when I was at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal as a Wilbur Fellow. I am grateful for the opportunity to spend a wonderful summer in a beautiful, peaceful, and intellectually invigorating place to read, write, and discuss ideas with [the staff] and to many others at the Kirk Center for their support of my work and the fellowship we enjoyed that summer. I hope this work honors Dr. Kirk and his legacy.”

Ben spoke to Glenn Loury of Brown University about his work on the problems of the social commons in relation to Christian moral thought to grapple with the issues of agency, responsibility, and human development on the Glenn Show: https://buff.ly/xUYxiyI

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