Well, not entirely, at least. Actually, if I'm full of anything, I'm filled with respect and admiration and love for my family. God has blessed us with seven children, and my wife, Dedra, and I are quickly approaching our 25th wedding anniversary. Every day seems better than the previous one.
God has also blessed (or cursed) me with hypergraphia, the desire to write as much as possible. I’ve been this way ever since I could write, and, especially, since I learned to type on my grandfather’s old typewrite and my Commodore 64. Since 2010, I’ve written a weekly (and sometimes, a biweekly) blog for Winston Elliott’s The Imaginative Conservative, and I’ve also written for National Review Online, Catholic World Report, Acton, and Law and Liberty. Two of my websites are Stormfields and Spirit of Cecilia. Additionally, I’ve written books on Christian humanism and biography, Christian humanism and literature and film, J.R.R. Tolkien, the Inklings, Russell Kirk, Andrew Jackson, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, and Christopher Dawson. I’m currently working on books on the great sociologist Robert Nisbet and one of my all-time favorite authors, Ray Bradbury.
Writing, so it seems, is in the blood. I’m full of it!
As to why substack, I’ve been very impressed with Jason Jewell and his substack and John William Sherrod and his substack. In fact, each was, albeit unwittingly, an inspiration for this. A long conversation with my long-time friend Phil Nielsen this morning also convinced me to create this.
So, what to expect from “Bradley J. Birzer’s Substack”?
One. Certainly, reprints of my seven-hundred-plus articles at The Imaginative Conservative (thank you, Winston!) as well as reprints of posts I’ve made at Spirit of Cecilia, Stormfields, and Progarchy.
Two. My political thoughts on the day, such as they are. What do I think of F16 training for Ukraine, what do I think of Tim Scott, etc. Most of these, I will try to couch in the meaning and language of the Constitution and the western and American experience.
Three. History. Historical episodes, personages, moments, etc. Professionally, I’m a historian, and I’ve been teaching at the glorious Hillsdale College since the fall of 1999. My specialty within history is the intellectual and cultural history of western civilization as well as America, French and Indian War to the Civil War.
Four. Book, movie, and music recommendations. I’m no opponent of popular culture, and I think, when good, it has much to teach us.
Five. Whatever tickles my over-active imagination at the moment.
Thanks for coming along for the journey. Clearly, this is just the beginning, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it takes me. Glad to have you as a companion.
Yours, Brad