In it's April 26, 1968, cover story, TIME said of Novelist John Updike, then 36 and author of the just published Couples: "He has ignored the mainstream of contemporary Western fiction. Nearly every important American writer works from an assumption that society is at best malevolent and stupid, at worst wholly lunatic. Updike dares to hope for both the reality of God and the sanity of society. "This week, 14 years, 14 books and many prestigious literary awards later, TIME once again has chosen Updike as its cover subject. Only four other novelists have appeared twice on TIME'S covers: Sinclair Lewis (1927, 1945), James Joyce (1934,1939), Ernest Hemingway (1937, 1954) and William Faulkner (1939,1964).

Updike values his privacy; unlike most of his peers, he does not think a successful author must be a celebrity too. But when approached by TIME about six weeks ago, he had no objection to being interviewed in depth. Explains Paul Gray, who wrote this week's cover story: "It obviously wasn't the publicity that intrigued him. The success or failure of one work will hardly determine the course of his career. He is thoroughly established. But while he disdains as much as likes publicity, we found out something charming and unexpected about him. He is a baseball fan, and like many baseball fans he loves to reflect upon records. Now he could tie one: 'Novelists with most appearances on TIME'S cover (two): Lewis, Joyce, Hemingway, Faulkner, Updike.' "

Gray, who taught English literature at Princeton University for seven years before becoming a TIME book reviewer and critic, joined New York Bureau Chief Peter Stoler to interview the author at his 14-room house in Beverly Farms, Mass. Said Gray: "I'd been reading Updike for 20 years. The interview was a pleasure. And afterward it was a considerable challenge to write about someone who writes so well. You worry that your best might not be good enough."

Said Stoler: "I am envious of someone who does exactly what he dreams of doing, and does it so well." Suggests TIME Senior Editor Stefan Kanfer, who edited the cover story: "You can find some American novelists and literary critics who can rival the quality and importance of his individual works. But no one can match him today for the variety of his endeavors and the discipline he brings to them." TIME, which is not in the habit of repeating itself, is happy to have John Updike on its cover once again.

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