C-SPAN’S AMERICAN WRITERS LOOKS AT THE MODERN CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT THROUGH WRITERS RUSSELL KIRK AND WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR.

(Washington D.C.) On Sunday, June 30, C-SPAN’s latest historical series, American Writers II: The 20th Century will be on location at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in Mecosta, Michigan at 3 PM ET for a three-hour program looking at the history of the modern conservative political movement through the work of movement leaders Russell Kirk and William F. Buckley.

The first two hours of the program are live and focus on the life and writings of Russell Kirk from his hometown of Mecosta. The third hour is an interview with William F. Buckley, Jr. taped at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. The three-hour program will re-air Friday, July 5th at 8 pm ET.

Guests for the Kirk segment include: Dr. Wilfred McClay, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Dr. Ian Crowe, Program Director, Russell Kirk Center, and two members of Dr. Kirk’s family: his widow Annette Kirk, President, Russell Kirk Center, and their daughter Andrea Kirk.

Viewers can join the conversation about Dr. Kirk, Mr. Buckley and the conservative movement by calling 202-585-3890 (conservative callers), 202-585-3891 (liberal callers) or 202-585-3892 (other callers). C-SPAN’s Susan Swain is the host of Sunday’s program.

The Kirk-Buckley program is the next-to-last installment of C-SPAN’s special historical series, American Writers II: The 20th Century. For 15 weeks, from March 31 through July 7, C-SPAN looked at 20th century U.S. history through the lives and works of featured writers with a live program on Sundays at 3 pm ET. The series finale, on July 7, looks at the Vietnam War through the writing of noted reporters David Halberstam and Neil Sheehan in a program that airs live from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

American Writers II will examine American history through the lives and works of 18 selected writers—from the literary to the political, from war correspondents to social critics. Selected writers represent the Progressive Era (1901-1929), Depression and War (1929-45), the Early Cold War (1945-1961) and end with the Social Transformation to Vietnam (1961-75). American Writers II considers how America forged its role in the world during this past century and how authors offer insight into the nation it is today.

An earlier series, American Writers: A Journey Through History, debuted on March 19, 2001, and aired through September 10th. American Writers focused on the early history of the country, beginning with the Mayflower Compact through the end of the 19th century and the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt—producing more than 140 hours of original programming.

A full listing of the writers and sites included in the series can be found at: www.americanwriters.org where interested viewers can also purchase all works featured in the series through a partnership with the online subsidiary of Borders Group, Inc., Borders.com. This is the fourth historical series produced by C-SPAN.

The classroom portion of the American Writers web site earned a Beacon Award in March 2002 recognizing excellence in public affairs throughout the cable industry. Click on www.americanwriters.org/classroom.