You can keep your minimalism and your lean spare prose and your cynical little tales about twentysomethings; give me the courtly voice, the nuanced awareness of Southern social custom and familial torment, the mature, generous prose of Peter Taylor—who, even after suffering a stroke that forces him to dictate his work, can write rings around most Generation X proseurs. And who, happy to say, is finally receiving the honors he deserves, among these the PEN/Malamud Award for short-story writing. The seventysomething Taylor will speak briefly when he receives his prize tonight; Sen. John Danforth (whose wife is Taylor’s niece) will read Taylor’s “Two Pilgrims.” At 8 p.m. at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. $20. (202) 544-7077. (Liza Mundy)