Fiction Snow by Harry L. Mountzoures. Writer describes his associations with snow from when he was 5 to the present, when his son is 5. Writer's mother stayed next to the radiator in winter. His foster mother, whom he lived with at age 12, wouldn't let him stay inside when it snowed, but she wouldn't let...

The Current Cinema by Penelope Gilliatt. In review of Burt Reynolds' new film "Hooper", writer speculates on what makes this actor so popular...

The Race Track by G. F. T. Ryall. There is talk of a match race between this year's and last year's Triple Crown winners, Affirmed and Seattle Slew. Louis Wolfson, the owner and breeder of Affirmed, has spoken about the possibility of such an event. It is said the race would be run at Churchill Downs this fall...

Comment by James Stevenson. A friend writes: Some mornings, when everybody else on the West Side is jogging, I like to sit on a bench near the entrance to the Park at 72nd St. and Central Park West. One morning, I was sitting under the wisteria arbors when a bee buzzed around my head...

Books by George Steiner.

Fiction Starting by Edna O'Brien. Anna is in her late 30's, divorced, with grown children, and works as a costumer for a theatre in England Her friend Ken, a director, brings Bobby to meet her. He is Irish-American, married and estranged from his wife, with children, in love and in awe of Anna...

Around City Hall AROUND CITY HALL BUT NOT FOR LOVE by Andy Logan. In a little-publicized ceremony, the Pres., on Aug. 4th signed into law a bill that will provide financially troubled American farmers with federal loan guarantees of up to 4 billion dollars, exclusive of interest over the next 21 months. The Pres. announced the legislation would "give many farmers an...

A Reporter at Large CONTAMINATED by Thomas Whiteside. A REPORTER AT LARGE about dioxin contamination in&around Seveso, in Lombardy, Italy. On July 10, 1976, an explosion in a chemical reactor at the plant of Italian company ICMESA released a toxic cloud containing dioxin that descended on the community. The dioxin, one of the most toxic substances...

The Talk of the Town Filling the Vacuum by Wallace White. Talk story about newspaper strike which began Aug. 10th when the N.Y. Newspaper Printing Pressmen's Union #2 struck in response to managerial efforts to reduce the number of pressroom employees for economic reasons, including the installation of computerized equipment. PaperBandlers and Straighteners Union and the Post's unit of the Newspaper...

The Talk of the Town Zubin Mehta by Jane Boutwell. Talk story about Zubin Mehta, the new Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. Writer attended Mehta's first public concert with the Philharmonic in Central Park and also a rehearsal in Alice Tully Hall where Mehta was formally welcomed to the orchestra by Albert Webster. Describes the way Mehta conducted...

Poetry Finding a Depth: North Channel, Lake Huron by Judith Minty. These North Channel islands are forgotten children...

Poetry The Promissory Note by Howard Moss. Promissory note...