Farewell for a week (but please write!)

Your Arts & Leisure section will be missing (and we hope missed!) next Friday. But it's for a good cause.

"1,000 years of sports, 1000-1999," one in a series of special reports (no mere 100-year retrospectives for us!), will occupy this space, full of thoughtful essays and fun facts. Check it out.

And here's good news for crossword fans: You won't be deprived! THE CROSSWORD PUZZLE WILL APPEAR ON THURSDAY, NOV. 18, NEXT WEEK. So sharpen those pencils a day early!

While we interrupt our usual schedule, the Arts & Leisure editors want to reflect on how we're doing (well, we're still going to be pretty busy, but we're going to reflect anyway). We'd love to hear from you. Here are a couple of the questions we're asking ourselves:

We emphasize coverage of movies and TV because they're so influential and available to nearly everyone. We also try to keep you up to speed on significant trends (and noteworthy new productions) in the arts like theater, dance, opera, as well as museum exhibitions. Does that make sense to you? Or would you mix the topics another way?

Does it help you to have our staff panel count the instances of sex, violence, and vulgarities in movies? Or does this overemphasize these topics?

We can't promise to reply to your message, but we do promise to read it and to keep your ideas in mind as we plan future sections. Write to the Arts & Leisure Editor C-17, The Christian Science Monitor, One Norway St., Boston, MA 02115. Or call the Monitor's reader-feedback line at (617) 450-2300. Or e-mail us at entertainment@csps.com

Thanks in advance!

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society