From the Desk

After writing about why I am building Podvig, I discovered a two-day diptych in the Church calendar: St. Cosmas and St. Lucian.

When I asked my wife whether finishing my dissertation still mattered, her answer was immediate. Twenty years of unfinished work had become more than an academic question.

A failed sales lead, two Amazon routes, one minute at home, and less than a gallon of gas. On Labor Day weekend, ordinary work became the place where grief, formation, and a new vocation caught fire.

The Work of a Curator and Why I Am Building the Podvig Members' Library

Twenty years after beginning doctoral work, I am returning to its unfinished conclusion. Eight reflections will explore failure, formation, and the question connecting the dissertation to Podvig: How does truth become a form of life?

A dream born in Colombia, carried through the Catechetical Academy, Eighth Day Institute, Durham, and years of ordinary labor, is finally taking form in Podvig.

A family print shop, a hidden inheritance, and the story of how Podvig Press found roots in work carried forward across generations.

Sales calls. Amazon routes. A blue Jeep full of notes. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Podvig is becoming real.

After years of silence and difficult work, I began writing again. Sent on September 1, this letter announces Podvig and reflects on the road that brought me here.