Fiction 12 Variations by Saul Steinberg. Twelve drawings giving the artist's impressions of the seasons, in a fanciful style...

The Theatre LOVING AND FAILING TO LOVE by Brendan Gill.

Fiction First Wives and Trolley Cars by John Updike. William Farnham, though as tough and flip as most of the media-hardened denizens of this century, was sentimental about first wives and trolley cars. A trolley line had run from his hometown of Wenrich Corner, near the minor-league metropolis of Alton, and then in the other direction to...

Comment by Charles McGrath. A man in New Jersey took his son to see his first hockey game: the New Jersey Devils (ex-Colorado Rockies) played the Hartford Whalers at the new Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands. The Devils are the state's newest team. Tickets cost $17 each. The father reminisces about his...

A Reporter at Large A TEXTBOOK PLACE FOR BEARS by John McPhee. REPORTER AT LARGE about the bear population of New Jersey, which numbers about 60 or 70. Biologist Patricia McConnell keeps track of and studies the bears. The state wants to know about distribution, sex ratio, reproductive rate, habitat, home range. They are trying to refine their estimates, which are now...

The Current Cinema TOOTSIE, GANDHI, AND SOPHIE by Pauline Kael.

Fiction From There to Here by Ian Frazier. Semi-satirical piece about a child of the sixties (the writer) viewing the children (the next generation) and getting some insights on his own parents by virtue of being a parent. As a child of the sixties, the writer tells us, he never tires of attending reunions of his friends...

The Talk of the Town Homeless Men by William McKibben. Talk story about going to a shelter for homeless men one cold Dec. evening. After receiving a meal at the East Third Street shelter, the men are driven first to Brooklyn Men's shelter, which is full, and then to Fort Washington Armory, where they are given showers and eventually get...

Around City Hall AROUND CITY HALL STARTING OVER by Andy Logan. Writer reflects on the election just past. People thought John Lindsay won the mayoral election in 1969 because that year the N.Y. Mets won the World Series. Little political win-loss records of local teams was available to N.Y. candidates in this year's election. Lewis Lehrman lost the gubernatorial election...

Greetings, Friends! by Roger Angell. Good friends, draw near and lend a hand...

Poetry The Gallery Walk: Art and Nature by Howard Moss. A lesson in perspective, a trick of light...