Now there can be no doubt about it: Edward P. Jones belongs in the first rank of American letters. With the publication of ``All Aunt Hagar's Children,'' his third book and second collection of short stories, Jones has established himself as one of the most important writers of his own generation -- he is 55 years old -- and of the present day.

Not merely that, but he is one of the few contemporary American writers of literary fiction who are more interested in the world around them than they are in themselves. The happy result is that Jones has much to tell us about ourselves and how we live now.