"Arrangement in Black and White" by Dorothy Parker

Gotham, the 1930s. An elegant cocktail party, buzzing with gossip about the presence of the guest of honor: a real-live "colored" man! Read by Anita Diamant.

"I was born prematurely, which was the last time I was early for anything." Please don't let such famous quips distract from the real talent of that most famous Algonquin Round Table author, Dorothy Parker. That talent lay in "verse," as she called it, her witty book reviews, and most of all in her finely honed short stories. Though her talents were severely compromised by alcoholism, Parker was socially conscious enough to leave her estate to the NAACP.

If you know the novels The Red Tent or Good Harbor, you already know Anita Diamant. She is also a widely known journalist whose books on many aspects of Jewish life and culture are extremely popular. This September look for her new novel, The Last Days of Dogtown.