Professor of History Bradley Birzer’s book about the man who first used the word “conservative” to describe the contemporary understanding of the political ideology seems well-timed during these presidential primaries where so-called conservatives dominate the Republican field.
In “Russell Kirk: American Conservative,” Birzer presents a biography of the famed author of “The Conservative Mind.” Kirk was a leading intellectual who not only labeled the conservative movement but also influenced its early political leaders like Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.
Birzer describes Kirk as “too much a romantic to be good at politics,” but he illustrates Kirk’s political significance saying, “You couldn’t have had the Goldwater movement without Kirk, and you couldn’t have Reagan without Goldwater.”
Undeniably, Kirk was a strong force in the mid-20th century, corresponding with many of the period’s big names: Wendell Berry, Flannery O’Conner, Goldwater, Herbert Hoover, and Malcolm X. And some with whom he regularly corresponded — like Ray Bradbury, Whittaker Chambers, T.S. Eliot, and Leo Strauss — lauded his work. Yet, by Kirk’s death in 1994, he had lost his momentum and much of his fame had faded.
Since Birzer’s book was published last November, it has been reviewed by prestigious publications such as The Claremont Review of Books, National Review, The Wall Street Journal, and most recently The New York Times Sunday Review of Books in January. An important, though “unexpected” result of these reviews — according to Dedra Birzer, lecturer in history and Bradley Birzer’s wife — is that it’s forced discussions about Kirk and his accomplishments to reemerge.
“It’s become an opportunity to bring Kirk back into the public consciousness,” Dedra Birzer said.
With both the WSJ and NYT reviews featuring a summary of the life and work of Kirk more prominently than the evaluation of Bradley Birzer’s writing, large audiences are again exposed to the conservative intellectual.
A few weeks ago, the Library of Michigan also included the book on its list of the 2016 Michigan Notable Books that highlights books published in 2015 about Michigan authors or about Michigan topics. In this case, Birzer’s book fits under both categories since Kirk was born and lived in Michigan. He also taught at Michigan State University and for a semester at Hillsdale College.
Kirk’s wife, Annette Kirk,who survives him, agreed with Dedra Birzer’s analysis of the impact of the book.
“At this time when the conservative movement is in such disarray, it is good to have Bradley Birzer’s book remind readers of Russell’s thoughtful and erudite conservatism,” Annette Kirk said.
Although Bradley Birzer said he has wanted to write this biography for more than 15 years, he did not formally begin until Annette Kirk gave him her blessing and opened up her husband’s voluminous archives to him.
When Birzer first read “The Conservative Mind” as a college senior, he said Kirk did not fit into his usual political views. But since, he has clung to the idea of one day writing about him. In preparation, Birzer said he continually collected information on Kirk throughout the rest of his research for other projects.
Once Birzer received permission to peruse Kirk’s many diaries, letters, and other writings, he, his wife, and student assistants traveled to Mecosta, Michigan, monthly to scan all the documents so he could examine them in Hillsdale while writing.
“I had been talking to Annette about doing her husband’s biography for a while, but she was reluctant to open up all his archives,” Birzer said. “As far as I know, I’m the only person who’s gone through them all.”
Despite Birzer’s deep research into Kirk beforehand, he said he still was surprised by a number of discoveries, like that Kirk and Strauss were good friends, which defined the course of his book.
“I also had no idea how charitable he was. He gave almost all his money away,” Birzer said. “And if he gave money, it wasn’t a loan — it still gets me.”
With a publishing history that also includes biographies on Charles Carroll, Christopher Dawson, and J.R.R Tolkien, Birzer is described by Professor of History Mark Kalthoff as the “biographer” on faculty.
“He likes seeing the person’s life and relationships and how those are manifested in their ideas,” Kalthoff said.
Birzer’s latest biography is more than a work solely for academia, Kalthoff said, which is evidenced by The New York Times’ choice to review it.
“Certain books like this try to straddle that fence of wider audience and academic,” Kalthoff said “This has wider significance, so it deserves wider readership.”
This, combined with Birzer’s honed craft for biography and current conversation about what conservatism means, makes it appear that “Russell Kirk: American Conservative” has done something similar to Kirk’s “The Conservative Mind.” Just as Kirk did not create conservatism but articulated its old ideas in modern terms, Birzer has rediscovered a largely overlooked figure at a time when his ideas should perhaps be rediscovered, too.
