Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

No Left Turns

Solzhenitsyn

Lucas’ note below on freedom and literature reminded me that today is the birthday of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn. He completed The Gulag Archipelago in 1968. It was read in samizdat form and published in 1973 in the West. He picked up his 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature in 1974, because he was by then in exile. He still lives. I am tempted to quote something from him, but, no. Read his Nobel Lecture, you owe him that for his one word of truth.

Discussions - 1 Comment

Peter, Thanks for reminding me (and others) of this important birthday. The 20th century would be considerably different - and for the worse! - without AIS. FYI: ISI Books is putting out a Solzhenitsyn Reader in a year or, more likely, two. It will be edited by Dan Mahoney, Ed Erickson, and Alex Klimoff, so it will be a most judicious selection cum insightful introductions. A final word: your recommendation of the Nobel Prize lecture is spot-on. It’s probably the most autobiographical of his writings, at least in the sense of conveying his self-understanding as a morally-themed artist. I’ll reread it tonight.

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