Dear Michael Kirst in The Republic of Letters

I’ve become something of a regular contributor at The Republic of Letters (two publications in three months). My most recent one is, interestingly enough, an actual letter titled, “Dear Michael Kirst.” It isn’t the first letter I’ve ever written, but it’s my first published one, and for this I’d like to once again thank Sam Kahn for choosing my work for publication. I’ve heard that editors are supposed to support writers, but Sam goes above and beyond. He takes sides, and he’s got my back. Check out the forward that he wrote to my letter “Daniel Speechly writes to Michael Kirst of the California State Board of Education. ROL certainly has never heard of Michael Kirst, but, you know what, fuck that guy.” I don’t know another editor who would go to bat for me in such a manner. Thanks Sam.

I’ve highlighted other interesting work published on ROL in a previous post here, but with the rapid cadence of publishing on the site, I’d also like to point readers toward the fantastic work of Denise S. Robbin’s “Ocean Vuong: Romantic Hero” and Konstantin Asimonov’s “The Old Testament: A Review.” These essays couldn’t be more different, but they’re both loads of fun to read. If you have a sense of humor, spare each essay a bit of your time. And if you still have a moment, look through the rest of the archived texts on ROL. You’ll surely find something to tickle your fancy.