Nadine Gordimer

Nadine Gordimer has won the Nobel Prize, the first woman in 25 years to do so. It was perhaps just a matter of time for the gifted South African novelist, nobelisable, as the French say, for some years now. It is, of course, also a matter of justice: justice for the victims of apartheid, her great subject; and justice for her literary mastery of that subject.

"American Idol" reflects the deconstruction of celebrity ("Tyro Mania," by Dan Neil, 800 Words, March 12). It is no longer professional talent versus amateur aspirants. Once C-list celebrities morphed MTV's "The Real World" into VH1's "The Surreal Life," it was clear that amateurs were trumping professional talent in the public's mind. This reversal of attention threatens executive careers and skyrocketing salaries. The return of prime-time game shows, the persistence of "Survivor" and the shorter season of episodic TV all reflect too many amateur channels and too little professional content.

The 38 interviews in this volume were originally published (with one exception) in the New York Times, where Michiko Kakutani is a book critic and cultural affairs correspondent. The title of the collection (a bow to Wallace Stevens) gives the unifying theme to the interviews; their intention is to catch artists at work. The interviews are grouped in four sections: authors, directors, playwrights and producers, and performers.

Your Excellency: As representatives of the world's literary community, the undersigned writers wish to express profound concern about the recent arrest and detention of our colleague Bei Ling, who was apparently seized by Beijing police on Friday, Aug. 11. Mr. Bei, 40, had just returned from visiting relatives in Shanghai to conduct a forum on the latest issue of his literary periodical, Tendency Quarterly, when the arrest occurred. Hundreds of copies of the magazine were later seized by the police.

Looking for a good novel? It seems the judges for Britain's Booker Prize found two. Unable to decide between Michael Ondaatje's "The English Patient" and Barry Unsworth's "Sacred Hunger," the committee gave the prestigious literary award to the writers jointly. Ondaatje and Unsworth will share the $34,000 prize given by Booker, an international food-and-agriculture business. Co-winners were named once before, in 1974, when Stanley Middleton and Nadine Gordimer shared the honor.