The Talk of the Town Overnight by James Lardner. Talk story about a party given by NBC at Rockefeller Center for NBC News Overnight. The hour-long news show that ran at 1:30 in the morning was just cancelled. The show's admirers, though devoted, had been deemed too few. "Overnight" was a news program with unusual respect for the...

Comment by Garrison Keillor. A friend writes about his family's decision to buy a pool table and put it in the dining room and move the dining-room table upstairs and use it to pile stuff on. The suggestion had originally been made as a joke, but because of disappointment over a cancelled vacation...

The Talk of the Town Not Bitter by William McKibben. Talk story about "Better, Not Bitter," the advertising theme for the Kronenbourg beer account. "It began because our brew, scientifically, has fewer bitterness units than much of the competition," said Richard Penrock, a public-relations man handling the Kronenbourg beer account. Last week in an East Side bistro, Kronenbourg brass...

Fiction Say Good Night, Andorra by Lynn Caraganis. Parody on United States foreign policy and our fear of the influence of the Soviet Union on small countries, inspired by the recent U.S. invasion of Grenada. "For 700 years, we have been hearing pretty lies about AndorraNpicture-perfect mountains, neutral in the war. Well, get real! Those supposedly humble...

Letter from Rome by William Murray. Pope John Paul II's announcement on November 26, 1982, that 1983 would be a special Holy Year, took everyone, including his own bishops, by surprise. He called it "the Holy Year of Redemption"Nthe one-thousand-nine-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the death and resurrection of Christ, last observed...

The Theatre by Edith Oliver.

Fiction Times by Ann Beattie. It was almost Christmas. Cammy and her husband had come from New York to her parents in Cambridge. Peter felt guilty about not visiting his parents' house in Kentucky. Cammy wandered around her old room, noticing two photos taped to the mirror, of Michael Grizetti, who had been her steady...

The Current Cinema A DE PALMA MOVIE FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE DE PALMA MOVIES by Pauline Kael.

Fiction Natural History by Saul Steinberg. Four drawings captioned: "Bird Hears Breakfast"; "Dog Remembers Home"; "Cat Pounces on Sound"; "Rabbit Measures Distance...

The Art World (The Art Galleries) by Calvin Tomkins.

Greetings, Friends! by Roger Angell. Good readers, hi, down there below...

The Talk of the Town Tourist by Susan Lardner. Talk story about Janet and her travels. Writer ran into her at a department store, stocking up on massive books at 50% off. "I've been to Greece," she said. "Now I'm doing my Christmas shopping." "I want to tell you about my trip," she said, standing on the subway platform...

Onward and Upward with the Arts PRIX DU HAMBURGER by Calvin Trillin. ONWARD AND UPWARD WITH THE ARTS about fast food restaurants in Paris. Writer takes his 11-year-old daughter Sarah, and two friends, 13-year-old Simon Cherniavsky and his younger sister Emma, to investigate the findings of the French news paper "Le Monde," which had an article on "fastefoude...

Around City Hall AROUND CITY HALL MOBILITY by Andy Logan. Highlights of 1983. The city has had one mayor, Edward Koch, since Jan. 1, 1978, when he was sworn in for his first term. His personal style and style of governing have changed very little, giving an impression of a certain stability at City Hall. But only a very small...

Books by Whitney Balliett.

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

Poetry The Mourner's Christmas by Lizbeth Rosenberg. I've waited a long while in this antique snow-light...