Between Friends Pa

The editor of A Voice of One's Own and Listen to Their Voices here assembles a winning collection of 20 original essays on friendship by a varied group ranging from such relative newcomers as Connie Porter and Christine O'Hagan to well known names like Joyce Carol Oates, Carolyn See, Jayne Anne Phillips and Shirley Abbott. Some authors discuss specific people they have known. Jill McCorkle, for example, explores the joys of her shared history with girlhood chum Cathy Lewis, even though it includes embarrassments: when their apartment was robbed, Cathy's wardrobe was stolen, but hers wasn't--confirming Cathy's opinion of Jill's taste in clothes. Others contemplate the pain of not having friends. Angela Davis-Gardner recalls what it was like to be excluded from the ``inner circle'' of junior high Southern belles, an experience that resonated through her adulthood. Considering friendship in the abstract, Jane Smiley wonders if it is possible for writers to have friends at all, while Wendy Wasserstein argues that female friendships have ``the same bumps and turns'' and must be as carefully cultivated as other relationships. Reading these essays may not quite match spending an evening with an old friend, but it makes a pretty good second. First serial to Mirabella, Story, Glamour and Ladies ' Home Journal. (Apr.)