Dancing by Arlene Croce.

Comment by William Finnegan. COMMENT about the recent release of Nelson Mandela, the black South African leader against apartheid, from a 27-year-term in prison. Comments that "in some ways, the South African revolution is an old-fashioned one. It's a sort of proletarian revolution that Marx thought would follow industrialization in the...

The Theatre PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST ON THE WANE by Edith Oliver.

The Talk of the Town Buffed Out by Adam Gopnik. Interview with five graffiti artists, A-One, Crash, Daze, Dondi, and Lee. Graffiti once spread from Pelham Bay to Coney Island, and even for a while took over such unlikely spots as the Sidney Janis Gallery and Time magazine. Now, however, in the days of scrawl-proof subway cars, these...

Our Far-Flung Correspondents TRAVELS OF THE ROCK by John McPhee. OUR FAR-FLUNG CORRESPONDENTS about Plymouth Rock and its current re-mortaring. The writer investigates the origin of the rock and discovers theories that point from Canada to Europe to Africa. He relates the history of the Plymouth settlement and the geological history of Massachusetts and New England in general...

The Talk of the Town Unclaimed by Mark Singer. In a Talk story about the Office of Unclaimed Funds, the author seeks a room at the Uniondale Marriott in order to take a nap. They inform him that it is not customary to give out hotel rooms by the nap. He settles on the parking lot of the adjoining...

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

A Reporter at Large WHALES by Diane Ackerman. A REPORTER AT LARGE about whales and their songs. Writer visits Patagonia and Maui to observe whales singing, breeding and playing. Tells about Roger Payne, who is present throughout the piece and is a whale researcher who set up the field station in Argentina. Writer meets him in Maui &...

Comment Comment, pt. II by Alec Wilkinson. The author admits to owning two pieces of furniture that once belonged to John Gotti via the Ravenite Social Club. The club, situated across from the author's apartment on Mulberry Street, serves as the Manhattan headquarters for Mr. Gotti. It was remodeled shortly after Mr. Gotti was indicted. The author...

Books by John Updike.

Jazz With Jazz by Bobbie Ann Mason. Chrissy, about to become a granny, "never paid attention to current events," as she "was too busy raising a family. But my children have all gone now and I've started to think about things that go on." She goes to a weekly neighborhood group to "talk about life, in a...

Fiction Coyote v. Acme by Ian Frazier. Opening statement of an attorney for Wile E. Coyote, Plaintiff, -v.- Acme Company, Defendant.] Mr. Coyote states that on eighty-five occasions he has purchased of the Acme Company through that company's mail-order department, certain products which did cause him bodily injury due to defects in manufacture or improper...

Letter from Los Angeles by Joan Didion. LETTER FROM LOS ANGELES about the recent turmoil at the LA Times. Writer gives a brief history of LA and the Times, showing how the interests of each have been identical for most of that history. Starts with Harrison Gray Otis, the first successful editor and publisher of the Times...

The Art World (The Art Galleries) by Adam Gopnik.

Poetry The End by Mark Strand. Not every man knows what he shall sing at the end...

Poetry Sunday Skaters by Mary Jo Salter. These days...

Poetry Creating the World by Czeslaw Milosz. Celestials at the Board of Projects burst into laughter...