Cover artist: William Steig
Publication Date: February 13, 1984
Page Count: 132 pages
In this issue:Dancing by Arlene Croce. The Talk of the Town New Clothes by William McKibben. Talk story about a trip to the Marriott Hotel, in Uniondale on Long Island, where the athletes who will be competing in the 1984 winter Olympics were picking up the outfits they will wear in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Writer talked to Nancy Peterson, a public relations woman for Levi Strauss, the... Reflections WEAPONS AND HOPE II-TOOLS by Freeman Dyson. REFLECTIONS about nuclear weapons. Writer gives history of the hydrogen bomb, now obsolete because of its size. Thirty years ago, James Conant and Robert Oppenheimer believed that superbombs with multimegaton yields were not only immoral but militarily uninteresting. At that time, this was a subversive doctrine. Now, as a result... Books by Winthrop Sargeant. The Theatre by Edith Oliver. The Talk of the Town Restoration by Philip Hamburger. Talk story about a trip to Boston. Writer had some medical work done several months ago, at Massachusetts General Hospital (he couln't walk and they got him walking again). He went back for a checkup and visit. Took the Metroliner from Penn Station. Writer walked to the hospital where miracle... Comment by William McKibben. Writer ponders the plight of homeless people. It is the rare person who could not conceivably be reduced to the same raggedy shape by a combination of plausible circumstancesNthe loss of a job, the breakup of a marriage, an encounter with alchoholism, a bout of mental illness, a sudden disability... The Talk of the Town Sentiment by Natacha Stewart. Talk story about looking at Valentine's Day cards at the Hallmark Gallery store on Fifth Avenue, where everything was pink. There was a wall almost fifty feet long, with a giant collage of valentine cards in a riot of primary colors. Writer found cards for Aunts, Nieces, Brothers, Sisters, Mother... Fiction The Last Mrs. Aspair by George W. S. Trow. Victoria Feldman is at a large dinner party given by her cousin, Sophie Aspair, who is known as the last Mrs. Aspair, although there are others. Sophie was the last of three wives of the late Sixte Aspair. As Sophie darts about, greeting guests, Victoria notices a young man who... Poetry The Near and Dear by Cynthia Zarin. Paris, and all the streets muffled... /I can't be where... Poetry Warmth by Brendan Galvin. One flick of the wrist... Poetry The Sawdust Logs by Karl Shapiro. When wood went up and the price of fire soared... | 
