Walter J. Ong, S.J., professor of English at Saint Louis University (St. Louis, Mo. 63103), is known as a scholar in both the renaissance field and the field of contemporary culture. His latest book, The Presence of the Word, is an historical study of the development of verbal communication from oral cultures through writing and print to electronics. Dr. Ong has lectured widely and is the author of numerous articles in literary and scholarly periodicals.