A Reporter at Large A WALK ALONG THE BOYNE by Anthony Bailey. REPORTER AT LARGE about a walk along the River Boyne in Ireland. Writer's companion is Seamus Heaney, the Irish poet and teacher at University College, Dublin. Heaney is originally out of the North. He was brought up on a farm in Derry. Writer and Heaney start out at Trim and...

The Current Cinema EASY RIDER by Roger Angell.

Fiction Excesses by Arnie Levin. Eight drawings of frantic, or in some cases, relaxed people, with captions such as: "News, Weather, and Sports,O "Foreign-Language Films,O "BouillabaisseO (man with a fishtail), "Spine TinglersO (woman with hair stright up in the air), "Cats" (woman exuding cat fluff), etc...

Comment by Jonathan Schell. Comment. One of the most striking features of the news these days is an absence. Since the disastrous mission to release the American hostages in Iran, coverage of the hostages has evaporated. The spotlight of news coverage followed Secretary of State Muskie on his recent trip to Vienna to confer...

The Talk of the Town Rehearsal by Jane Boutwell. Talk story about a dress rehearsal of the American Ballet Theatre's new production of "La Bayadere", a lavish Indian fairy tale choreographed by Natalia Makarova, a Russian, who is the reigning ballerina in the world today. Writer quotes her remarks and tells, also, about an interview with her...

Fiction Yard Sale by Paul Theroux. Floyd is returning to the United States after two years in the Peace Corps in Western Samoa. His Aunt Freddy, the narrator, meets him at the Hyannis, Cape Cod, Airport. She intends to care for him over the summer, as his parents have been recently divorced. She knows he will...

Dancing Ashley, Balanchine, and "Ballade" by Arlene Croce.

The Talk of the Town Nine Gatherings in a Mind by Anthony Hiss. Talk story about the nine previews of the Picasso show at the Museum of Modern Art. The museum's interior has been redesigned for the show, which fills 48 rooms and 3 floors and then some. Visitors find that what they are reacting to is not 990 pieces of art but...

The Theatre NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T by Brendan Gill.

The Talk of the Town Royalty by Jamaica Kincaid. Talk story about waiting at the McGraw-Hill Building for the appearance of Their Royal Highnesses Prince Albert and Princess Paola of Belgium. The two are in New York to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the independence of Belgium and were expected at a quarter past nine for a showing...

Profiles I-EYE OF THE STORM by Robert Shaplen. PROFILE of David Dunlop Newsom, U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs. On Nov. 4, 1979, the U.S. Embassy, in Teheran, Iran, was invaded by militants and the occupants held hostage, which continues to the present. Newsom has devoted much of his time to the Iranian crisis. What had...

Fiction Gravity by Ann Beattie. Narrator is a woman whose lover's name is Nick. He wants her to get rid of the L.L. Bean jacket with only one button which she received from a former boyfriend, and which she has worn for eight years. She probably wants him to get rid of Barbara, with whom...

Books Byron by V. S. Pritchett.

Poetry From Melville's Study by William Knapp. Between these windows and the sprawl of Mount Greylock...

Poetry The Missionary Position by Stanley Plumly. Even the light coming down is slick with rain...

Poetry Last Night Train by Robert Penn Warren. In that slick and newfangled coach we go slam-banging...