A Surprisingly Strong Premiere.

Writer Walter Kirn. He was raised a Mormon on a Minnesota farm. He has been an editor for "Vanity Fair" and "Spy" magazines. His first collection of stories, "My Hard Bargain," was published two years ago. Kirn now freelances as a media critic for magazines such as Mirabella and GQ. His most recent book, "She Needed Me," is about religion and redemption and is now out in paperback from Simon & Schuster. (REBROADCAST FROM 9-30-92).

Writer Thom Jones was a boxer in the Marines in the mid-1960s. He was supposed to ship out to Vietnam, but he suffered an epileptic seizure, which he believes was caused by too many punches to the head. So instead of shipping out, he was thrown out. The rest of his unit did go to Vietnam, where they were ambushed and killed. Jones turned to writing, but couldn't get anything published, so he became a high school janitor. He is finally experiencing literary success this year with the publication of his collection of short stories "The Pugilist At Rest" (Little, Brown).