June 28, 2005

Article on author John Irving, 53, whose latest novel, Until I Find You, which is due out in July, deals fictionally with personal secret--that he was sexually abused by older woman when he was 11--and other themes in his life and work; Irving comments on searching for and finding out truth about his biological father, John Wallace Blunt, despite earlier denials that he was interested in doing so; describes writing book while undergoing search, rewriting manuscript from first person narrative to third and what it has meant to unburden himself; photos (M)

At least Jill Craybas had one day to savor upsetting a Williams sister on Court 2 at the All England Club. When she returned to the intimate court known as the Graveyard on Monday, Craybas was the one who ended up being buried in straight sets, losing by 6-0, 6-2 in the fourth round at Wimbledon to the other tennis-playing Williams sister, Venus. This, of course, was no upset. Venus is a two-time Wimbledon champion, and Craybas had never beaten a top-10 player until she shocked Serena Williams on Saturday.

When the principal owner, George Steinbrenner, convenes his top executives Tuesday in Tampa, Fla., there will surely be talk about the Yankees' advancing age. The roster seems stale and ill fitting, with too many players past their prime and prone to injury. But a benefit of age is experience, an important value to Joe Torre, the Yankees' manager. Torre must have loved it when his players gathered on the couches in the visiting clubhouse Monday night for a low-key talk about how to play the game.

A better banana and a less-toxic cassava, childhood vaccines hidden in spores and drunk with fruit juice, mice that develop AIDS and many other exotic dreams of public health scientists will share $437 million in grant money, the William and Melinda Gates Foundation announced yesterday. The 43 projects were the winners of a competition announced by Mr. Gates two years ago to find new ways to attack the greatest health challenges facing people in poor countries; the contest attracted 1,500 proposals from 70 countries.

Nicolai Ouroussoff Critic's Notebook column on newly unveiled master plan for Manhattan's East River Esplanade; design, commissioned by Department of City Planning and Economic Development Corp, is collaboration among Gregg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects, Richard Rogers Partnership in London and landscape architect Ken Smith; city officials hope to complete esplanade within three to five years, with projected cost of $200 million; drawings; map (M)