A Grand Street Reader — Ben Sonnenberg

Since its founding in 1981, the quarterly Grand Street has become one of the country's premier literary journals; included here is a judicious selection of articles, fiction and poetry published in its pages over the past five years. There are delightful memoirs by Alexander Cockburn and Luis Bunuel as well as John Hess's scathing critique of the New York Times. Alice Munro offers a touching fictional memoir, ``Working for a Living,'' and Leon Rooke's ``Saks Fifth Avenue'' is a quirky anti-love story of fantasy and devotion. Murray Kempton contributes an elegant introduction and a witty debunking of William Barrett's Partisan Review memoirs. Sonnenberg, Grand Street's founder and editor, has compiled a book that will delight those appreciative of good writing. (October)