Jazz by Whitney Balliett.

The Talk of the Town From a Connecticut Dock by James Stevenson. Illustrated Talk story about people fishing from a dock in Connecticut. Writer was there at eight o'clock on a hot Sunday morning, to watch a dozen people, ranged loosely along a metal railing at the edge of a concrete pier. A bearded man said that fluke, flounder, and harbor blues...

Our Far-Flung Correspondents THE BOOM-BOOM FAIR by E. J. Kahn. OUR FAR-FLUNG CORRESPONDENTS about a world's fair in Japan called Tsukuba Expo '85. It will be open for business until mid-Sept. This Expo, Japan's third in 15 years, bestrides a 250-acre tract abutting an enclave northeast of Tokyo, called Tsukuba Science City. In 1963, the Japanese govt...

Jazz JAZZ STILL THERE by Whitney Balliett. Singer Peggy Lee is playing an engagement at the Ballroom on West 28th Street. Her real name is Norma Deloris Egstrom; she is from Jamestown, North Dakota, and was hired as Peggy Lee by Benny Goodman in the summer of 1941 at age 19. Tells what was said about her...

Books by John Updike.

A Reporter in Washington by Elizabeth Drew. The President's aides believed that his tax-reform proposal was just the thing to get him back on the offensive after his trip to Europe. It would have Reagan offering people something they were presumed to want-lower taxes combined with a simplified and fairer tax code. Though it did...

The Talk of the Town Four Horses by William McKibben. Talk story about competition carriage driving. Writer visited the former James Cox Brady estate in N.J., now owned by the Beneficial Insurance Corporation. The estate stables serve as the headquarters of the U.S. Equestrian Team, which was introducing the sport - four horses, a driver, two grooms, and a carriage. Tells...

Letter from Europe by Jane Kramer. In France this spring the Communist Party tried to keep a documentary dealing with the Communist Resistance in WWII off French television. The documentary was called "Des 'Terroristes' a la Retraite" & the retired terrorists of the title were the elderly survivors of a group of wartime Communist immigrants-Polish...

The Talk of the Town Name Caller by James Lardner. Talk story about Leonard Drum, who found himself with a new business as a name consultant when he helped his hair stylist, Ramesh Durbal, come up with names for a hair salon and a restaurant. Mr. Durbal told Mr. Drum that he was having trouble finding a name for the...

Comment by Gwyneth Cravens. A woman we know writes: "I arrived in N.Y. from my home town in the Southwest 20 yrs. ago this summer." She arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Tells about the noise & crowds there. A siren whined. At home, a siren attracted everyone's attention but here, people were...

Fiction Yo, Poe by Frank Gannon. Consider[Sylvester Stallone's pet project: a film biography of Edgar Allan Poe. 'I am a student of his,' says Stallone. 'But people have this image of Poe as a crazy alcoholic and drug addict, and that's wrong. I'd like to set the record straight." -Newsweek This story is written in...

The Talk of the Town Offerings by Fred C. Shapiro. Talk story about writer's friend who devotes his lunch period to patrolling Fifth Avenue from midtown to Washington Square Park and back, a distance of five and fourtenths miles. The most strenuous event on this walk is tho hop, skip, and jump he must perform to avoid those seeking to...

Fiction Pupil by Frederick Barthelme. Each summer George teaches a course in Basic at the junior college. This year Tracy Whitten is his favorite student. By the 4th session, George is so taken with her he invites her to dinner; he's ready to break the rules. After some hesitation, she accepts. She arrives at his...

Poetry Hurricane Warning by Arthur Smith. I still have, somewhere...

Poetry Switchblade by Michael Ryan. Most of the past is lost...