The Talk of the Town Roses by Holly Brubach. Talk story about Stephen Scanniello, curator and head gardener of the Granford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The rose garden is in its sixty-first year; Mr. Scanniello is in his thirty-third. Since taking over the garden in 1984, he has nearly doubled the number of rose...

Letter from Washington by Elizabeth Drew. Dukakis works in references to the Administration's dealings with Panamanian leader Manuel Antonio Noriega whenever he can, sometimes reaching pretty far to make the connection. The Panama debacle was overtaken by the summit conference in the Soviet Union. The Adm. tried to get an agreement with Noriega before the summit...

The Talk of the Town Players by Adam Gopnik. Talk story about the Cornerstone Theatre Company. It is composed of 11 young show folk, mostly former Harvard & Radcliffe students. The company has 3 full-time actors, who take leading and supporting roles and act as coaches; the 8 other members direct, design, and stage-manage. Bill Rauch and...

Annals of War AN AMERICAN SOLDIER IN VIETNAM III-AN ALL-ROUND MAN by Neil Sheehan. ANNALS OF WAR about John Paul Vann and the war in Vietnam. Vann was illegitimate. His father's name was Johnny Spry. His mother was Myrtle Lee Tripp. Vann was the offspring of one of the few genuine attachments his mother was to have in a lifetime of shddy liasons, which...

Fiction Rerun by Anne Tyler. Maggie and Ira arrive at a church in a small town near Baltimore for the funeral of Max Gill, an old friend and the husband of Maggie's oldest friend, Serena. Serena seems composed and even expresses some relief after watching Max suffer. She wears a red dress to the memorial...

Comment by Mark Hertsgaard. Third World debt is not a subject that most Americans have given much thought to. Not until 1982, when major debtors like Brazil & Mexico threatened to default-thus raising the spectre of instability within the world financial order & enormous losses for American-based multinational banks-did news about...

Books by John Updike.

The Theatre O'CASEY AT THE FESTIVAL by Edith Oliver.

The Art World (The Art Galleries) by Adam Gopnik.

The Talk of the Town Kosher by Mark Singer. Talk story about the third International Kosher Food and Jewish Life Expo at the Javits Convention Center. Various kosher food companies were represented. Bernan Foods, Inc. which makes Barney's Hors d'Oeuvres and Bernie's East Bagel Dogs, was represented by Louis Moloff, its regional sales manager; Mendel's Haymish Brand products was...

Dancing by Alastair Macaulay.

Poetry The King by Jean Valentine. You take the card of yourself out...

Poetry A Journal of Southern Rivers by Charles Wright. What lasts is what you start with...