Adelman, Ken. WORD PERFECT (Washingtonian, vol. 31, no. 8, May 1996, pp. 29-32)

In this interview, poet Linda Pastan talks about why and how she writes poetry, and offers advice to writers and readers of poetry. As poet laureate of the state of Maryland, Pastan traveled around the state talking about poetry and reading her own poems in an effort to make poetry more accessible. Pastan's goal was "to help those who think they don't know anything about poetry, and are therefore afraid of it, learn that there isn't that much to 'know.'"

Barnes, Julian E. RECLAIMING OUR CITIES, BLOCK BY BLOCK (The Washington Monthly, vol. 28, no. 4, April 1996, pp. 42-44)

Little Rock, Arkansas, is transforming rundown areas of the city one street at a time through a program called "Model Blocks." The city combines federal grant money, private investment and its own resources to refurbish a single block. "Because revitalization efforts are concentrated in a small area, homeowners can work together and support each other," the author says. "And Model Blocks doesn't just give opportunity to a lucky few. The program aims to make renovation and renewal contagious...."

Coe, Robert. STEPPENWOLF HOWLS AGAIN (American Theatre, vol. 13, no. 5, May/June 1996, pp. 12-19, 60-61)

Chicago's risk-taking theater troupe, Steppenwolf, is famed for its physicality and a willingness "to push ideas and emotions to startling extremes." It is moving into its third decade with eagerness and anticipation, anxious to reaffirm strengths, shore up weaknesses, and renew "the mythic impulse of friends putting on a show," the author writes. Steppenwolf has been an exemplar of the regional theater movement in the United States, creating new works that have had long lives at home and overseas, and bringing fresh acting talent -- John Malkovich, Glenne Headly and Gary Sinise among its number -- to the U.S. stage and screen.

Halperin, Samuel; and others. WORKING AT LEARNING (Education Week, vol. 15, no. 32, May 1, 1996, pp. 33-36)

In a special report, Education Week presents the views of five writers on the role of public schools in providing education beyond the classroom. The authors describe the pros and cons of school-to-work programs, which prepare students for careers, and service-learning and community-service programs, which seek to instill civic responsibility.

Kiester, Edwin Jr. GIVING MONEY AWAY WISELY OUGHT TO BE A PIECE OF CAKE (Smithsonian, vol. 26, no. 12, March 1996, pp. 54-67)

The American spirit of giving is alive and well in Lorain County, Ohio, where a small family foundation distributes financial grants ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. While most people think of a foundation as a billion-dollar enterprise like the Ford or Rockefeller foundations, most American foundations are more like the Stocker Foundation -- a small, little-known source of seed money that helps projects get started close to home. "Family foundations like Stocker play a significant role in the nation's economic, social, and cultural life, especially in their home territory," the author writes.

Lacuna, Thomas. THE DECLINE AND FALL OF AMERICAN CIVILIZATION: CAN CHARACTER EDUCATION REVERSE THE SLIDE? (The World & I, vol. 11, no. 6, June 1996, pp. 285-307)

Character education is the deliberate effort by schools to develop and promote virtue. The author, one of the founders of the character-education movement, describes how it is gaining momentum in the United States. Character education assumes that there are certain immutable standards of decent and ethical behavior, such as honesty, compassion and nonviolence, which must be followed if society is to survive. "The challenge the movement sets before the nation is all-encompassing," he says, "for families, schools, faith communities, youth organizations -- all those who touch the lives of the young -- to come together in common cause to elevate the character of our youth and, ultimately, of society as a whole."

Moyes, Howard A. ADA WORKPLACE PUZZLES (State Government News, vol. 39, no. 4, April 1996, pp. 15-18)

ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, was signed into law in 1990, but employers and employees continue to wrestle with compliance issues. The article summarizes the law and gives examples of real-life dilemmas for which the act provides no easy answers. According to one state official, however, "Negotiations generally work out pretty well." Another says, "I have never had a request for an accommodation under the ADA that we could not handle."

Parini, Jay. FAITH AFTER THE FALL (The World & I, vol. 11, no. 6, June 1996, pp. 240-247)

This meditation on the career of John Updike calls Updike's 17th novel, IN THE BEAUTY OF THE LILIES, a work of "astonishing breadth and intellectual depth." Into its vast orbit, Parini says, "are pulled many of the concerns that have been featured in his previous fiction: the human quest for goodness; the nature of God's grace; the insistent, unsettling role that sexuality plays in the lives of men and women, and the unforgiving aspects of time." But Updike attempts, as he has never quite done before, "to comprehend the aspirations and failures of an entire nation. In four parts of roughly equal weight, beginning in 1910 and ending in 1990, he traces the lives of one family, the Wilmots, as they confront the loss of faith that, for Updike, is the central fact of our times."

Ruenzel, David. OLD-TIME RELIGION (Education Week, vol. 15, no. 27, March 27, 1996, pp. 30-35)

American public schools have long been wary of discussing issues of personal faith, but a growing number of teachers and scholars believe that today's students need to understand how religious beliefs have shaped the world in which they live. An increasing number of public schools are introducing courses that teach about religion without espousing a particular point of view. The article describes religious education programs in several school systems and explains why these programs do not conflict with the Constitutional separation of church and state.

Rybczynski, Witold. SOUNDS AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS (The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 277, no. 6, June 1996, pp. 108-112)

The author traces the history of the Boston Symphony's new Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, Massachusetts, which is modeled on the world's great concert halls. Built at the orchestra's rural summer facility, the hall is designed to serve as a summer recording studio, and to accommodate student orchestras, small ensembles and chamber music. The hall -- whose architect had never before designed an orchestra hall -- has been widely praised for the quality of its acoustics. Such acclaim is unusual for a new hall, the author says, explaining that " ... the reaction to new halls has frequently been lukewarm if not downright hostile. It is usually the old halls that are loved and admired."

Taylor, Regina. THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES (American Theatre, vol. 13, no. 4, April 1996, pp. 20-23)

Performer and playwright Regina Taylor describes the central role of blues music in the plays of August Wilson, focusing on his newest work, Seven Guitars. Set in post-World War II Pittsburgh, Seven Guitars is the sixth play -- each set in a different decade -- in Wilson's depiction of the 20th-century African-American experience. Wilson's "words -- thick with the poetry, rhythm and mother-wit of the blues -- give shadow, substance and heartbeat (as well as time, place and voice)" to his characters, the author says.

Watson, Bruce. A TOWN MAKES HISTORY BY RISING TO NEW HEIGHTS (Smithsonian, vol. 27, no 3., June 1996, pp. 110-120)

Three years ago, the town of Valmeyer, Illinois (population 900) was one of many midwestern United States towns flooded by the Mississippi River. After the floods, the costliest in U.S. history, some towns cleaned up; others split up. But Valmeyer is making history, the author says, by literally moving the entire town to land on a bluff just above the ruins of the old town. The move is being made possible by a U.S. Government program in "hazard migration," and the determination and cooperation of its citizens, who are building a new town from scratch.

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