Comment by Liesl Schillinger. Comment on the civil war in Yugoslavia. Last fall a friend of the writer's inspected the damage in a Croatian town, and was shown videotapes that residents had made of the destruction. The idea that people who watch TV, wear designer clothes, etc., could be waging a war is not...

The Talk of the Town Philadelphia Story by Mark Singer. Talk story about chaperoning a group of fifth graders, from Pelham, on a two-day history field trip to Philadelphia. The writer's son Jeb attends Colonial School. Ron Chidlow, a teacher at Colonial, arranged the trip, which included students from all four of the elementary schools in town. Describes the...

The Talk of the Town Pink Dawn by Guy Trebay. Talk story about the writer's friend Vince and his collection of old fashion magazines. One of Vince's pleasures in old magazines is finding new photographers. Jean Moral is a Vince find: "A kind of proto-Avedon who always shot women in streets looking offhand and relaxed." So is Toni Frissell...

The Talk of the Town Celebration by Elizabeth Wurtzel. Talk story about the 25th anniversary party for the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," sponsored by K-ROCK, the classic-rock station, in Times Square. Lyrics were flashed on Sony's huge outdoor screen. Most people in attendance were just innocent bystanders. Al Roker, of Channel 4. News, m.c...

Fiction The Empty House by Scott B. Smith. Three weeks after Arthur's ex-wife Kate moves in with her fiance Ted, their house burns down and Arthur lets them stay with him in his and Kate's old house near Toledo. Their divorce was amicable: Kate would accept no alimony; Arthur got the house and Kate its contents. He...

Annals of Crime II-A VIOLENT ACT by Alec Wilkinson. ANNALS OF CRIME about the end of the manhunt for Mike Wayne Jackson, who murdered three people in a crime spree that took him 300 miles in stolen cars from Indianapolis to Missouri. He abandoned his more recent stolen car in Wright City, Missouri, and took to the woods. The...

The Sky Line PRIMARY ELEMENTS by Brendan Gill.

The Current Cinema REHAB by Terrence Rafferty.

Letter from Washington by Elizabeth Drew. Ross Perot's crusade continues forward but not without some missteps. How many and what kind of missteps and discoveries about Perot it would take to sink him--if he is sinkable--is anybody's guess. His followers thus far don't seem interested in the negative stories, and have accepted Perot's construct...

Books by Brad Leithauser.

Poetry My Sister's Voice by Philip Levine. Half asleep in my chair, I hear...

Poetry A Gilded Lapse of Time by Gertrude Schnackenberg. When love was driven back upon itself...

Poetry Three Photographs by Charles Simic. Dummy up. Now you look like that kid...