News & Notes

* Pantheon: The Final Solution

The biggest book story of the spring has been Random House owner S. I. (Si) Newhouse's decision to force the resignation of AndréSchiffrin, head of Pantheon Books. Six Pantheon editors resigned in protest, leaving the future of the press very much in doubt. The following perspective on the matter appeared in England in Stuart Klawans' ''American Notes'' column of the Times Literary Supplement. After describing the company's founding by Helen and Kurt Wolff and Kyrill Schabert, who were later joined by Schiffrin's father, Jacques, Klawans writes, ''They were refugees who set up Pantheon in 1942 to preserve a culture that Hitler was trying to destroy. Now Si Newhouse has accomplished what the Nazis could not. Displeased with theesorts of books Pantheon brought out — books by Günter Grass, Simone de Beauvoir, Marguerite Duras, Michel Foucault, and Julio Cortazar — he has forced the resignation of André Schiffrin and decreed that Pantheon will continue in name only.'' Newhouse did not return calls.

* Deeds and Words

Louder Than Words, a collection of stories donated by authors to fight hunger, homelessness, and illiteracy, is the result of a remarkable chain reaction: One man had the idea; 22 writers gave their words; a publishing house saw the volume into print; and now bookstores are promoting it. All royalties go to Share Our Strength, in Washington, D.C., an organization for the homeless, which will use the funds to persuade restaurants to give perishable leftovers to shelters and soup kitchens. Louder Than Words has been so successful that editor Bill Shore plans three more volumes.

* Moussing Up a Classic

Pudgy, spunky, bristle-haired Nancy — of comic-strip fame — has just turned 50, but she's not quite the girl she used to be. Since the advent of cartoonist Jerry Scott, who began drawing the strip after the death of creator Ernie Bushmiller in 1982, Nancy has been moussing her hair and sporting a Walkman. She has even had a romantic interlude with pal Sluggo (it lasted only a week).