Flannery O'Connor is one of the great short story writers of the 20th century, and not a bad novelist either. Born a Catholic on March 25, 1925, she had a profound commitment to a system of beliefs and values that were despised in the deep South. That may have helped her, later on, when she needed to disregard critical incomprehension and hostility to proceed calmly with her often puzzling work. Miss O'Connor (who never married, because she was a life-long sufferer from lupus) was always pretty much of an original, and something of a hoot. As a child of six, she trained one of her pet chickens to walk backward, and put on a show for a wandering newsreel crew. She liked to say this was a highpoint of her life, after which all was anti-climax. In the mid-1940s, she studied at the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop, and there set a pattern for herself, struggling for excellence, not recognition. She had a bit of luck, however, when she was discovered by one of the truly great New York book editors, Robert Giroux. Earlier, Giroux had discovered the Trappist monk and poet, Thomas Merton). Now, in 1953, Giroux was publishing Miss O'Connor's Wise Blood, a comic novel about a Christian in spite of himself. In 1955, he published a set of her short stories, A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and, in 1959, her second novel, The Violent Bear It Away. A lot of people failed to understand what she was doing, but she was undaunted. "I have found that my subject in fiction is the action of grace in territory held largely by the devil. I have also found that what I write is read by an audience which puts little stock either in grace or the devil." Miss O'Connor was a Catholic, but she was not an activist or a militant. She had concern for individuals. When individuals understood themselves and their universe, she held, social solutions would inevitably follow.

MODEL: Flannery O'Connor's originality. Whether you are a writer or a dress designer, don't try to be anyone other than yourself. You're an absolutely unique individual. You know that, don't you? So be the fabulous individual that you are.

Energetic. If you were born on March 25, you have an unstoppable energy. With your powerful personality, you seem to be a born leader, but you'd much rather break away and fly solo. Ruled by the number 7 and the planet Neptune, you love to travel and learn about other cultures.

Apply the brakes. You are not driven by blind ambition. You know your limits, know what you can and cannot do. You also have a great need to get away from it all, recharge your batteries to survive in your hectic professional life.

Marriage? It'll be tough, because you want it all your way. You need someone who will balance out your full-throttle personality and probably won't find that partner until later in life. You may decide to live alone rather than settle for anything less. If you do get married, you may feel like you are missing something and seek extramarital affairs. Curiously enough, you still feel you are being faithful to your family, as long as you come home. Your family may feel otherwise.

Burned out. Your energy is not limitless. You can get rundown and become very nasty. You take offense easily and don't like being ignored. You may even throw tantrums or hurl cutting criticism.

The inner circle. Your temper and big mouth can land you in trouble, but those who know you generally forgive you. Special friends and family may form a buffer around you, filtering the criticism coming into you and out of you. Sometimes, however, it is best if they just let you go.

Some Advice : Learn to control your energy, rather than letting it control you. Try to appreciate silence and stillness once in a while.

Also born on this day:
Bela Bartok (Hungarian composer, pianist) Flannery O'Conner (woman novelist) Elton John (British singer, songwriter) Aretha Franklin (soul singer) Howard Cosell (sportscaster) David Lean (British director) Gloria Steinhem (feminist, activist, writer) Simone Signoret (French actress) Raymond Firth (social anthropologist) James Lovell (astronaut)