Fiction The Island by John Cheever. When prop plane on which he is flying makes a short repair stop on the island, writer sees a number of entertainment stars of yesterday, all leading happy and simple lives. He had been travelling from Nassau to Helen Sunderland's place in the Lesser Antilles in Harry Norton's little 2...

Fiction Asteroids by Elizabeth Tallent. The narrator is taking care of her lover's daughter, Ricky. Her lover, whose name is Joey, is visiting his dying father in Kansas City. Joey and his wife, Leigh have been divorced for a long time. The narrator had been divorced for three weeks when she first met Ricky Her...

The Talk of the Town Two Gatherings: Rock and Roll by George W. S. Trow. Two-part Talk story about visits to two Manhattan rock clubs, the Club Tabu, on West 31st St., at Dyer Ave., and the Ritz, in the Village. The Club Tabu is a new discotheque, where a dancer performs on a platform. Writer describes the club, which overlooks the Hudson River...

Fiction The New Rules by Ellis Weiner. A new Administration (under President Ronald Reagan), has come to power, and has brought with it a set of new rules. The rules are presented in clear, easy to understand language. Some examples: MONEY. Under the new rules, money will be simultaneously more important and less important than under the...

Reflections Warsaw Spring by William Pfaff. REFLECTIONS about Poland and Czechoslovakia, in light of fears that the Soviet Union will enter Poland. Czechoslovakia, traditionally, has not resisted military invasion. In 1938, abandoned by France and Britain, Czechoslovakia was invaded, the Sudetenland occupied. Writer reasons that armed resistance might have stopped Germany, and provoked an attempt by...

Musical Events Display by Nicholas Kenyon.

The Talk of the Town Joe Louis by Jervis Anderson. Talk story on the occasion of the death of Joe Louis, former world heavyweight champion. To Harlemites in the middle and late 30's, Joe Louis was easily the most heroic figure in America. He was the best black heavyweight boxer to have come upon the scene since the days...

The Talk of the Town Alliance by Wallace White. Talk story about a press conference held by the Ailanthus Alliance, a coalition of City Council members, representatives of civic organizations, and some environmentalists. The press conference was held to announce the introduction of a bill to the City Council to protect New York City's backyard trees. The Ailanthus Alliance...

Comment by Jonathan Schell. Pres. Reagan, a believer in states' rights, has said that it was the states that created the federal government. Actually, the Second Continental Congress called for the creation of the states which, in turn, acknowledged the authority of the preexisting national body. But if one were to judge by the...

A Reporter at Large THE SEARCH FOR NATIONAL SECURITY by Richard J. Barnet. REPORTER AT LARGE about national security. Americans' ideas of their nation's power have changed in the last six years. Until the withdrawal from Vietnam almost no one thought the U.S. was declining in influence. The Reagan Administration hopes to restore the military superiority enjoyed by the U.S. in the Eisenhower...

The Theatre Live Dolls by Edith Oliver.

Poetry 9 P.M. by Whitney Balliett. They go to bed bedecked with day...

Poetry Cyclone Off the Coast by Ralph Angel. It's not so much the heat from the sun...

Poetry The Cold in This Place by John Engels. In April I come on the cellar holes...