Musical Events Music Visible by Andrew Porter.

Personal History II-LEARNING by Ved Mehta. PERSONAL HISTORY about the writer's recollections of the period between February and June of 1947, when he lived with his family in Lahore, India, as a boy of twelve who turned thirteen during this time just before India's independence. There was turmoil in Lahore due to the discord between Muslims...

Our Far-Flung Correspondents PAPRYROLOGY AT NAPLES by Shirley Hazzard. OUR FAR-FLUNG CORRESPONDENTS about the Seventeenth International Congress of Papyrology held during a week last May in Naples. The 500 participants were animated and generally youthful; men and women in almost equal numbers. They discoursed on themes derived from ancient writings, ranging from the most consequential events of the...

Fiction One Day by Ann Beattie. Carl & Verna have 2 sons, 20-year-old Henry & 27-year-old Gerald For almost 15 years, Henry has not liked his older brother. Gerald is getting a divorce from Cora & Verna asks Henry to be nice to him. Henry remembers once sharing a...

The Talk of the Town Military Presence by William McKibben. The first part of this Talk story is about Sergeant Clarence Holmes, the only active-duty soldier of the U.S. Army at Times Square. From his post behind a desk in the U.S. Armed Forces recruiting station, Holmes gives out pamphlets like "You and the Army," bumper stickers like "Army...

Books The Charlie Chaplin Principle by Whitney Balliett.

Comment by John Brooks. One of the more engaging aspects of the American way of life is the long-standing tradition that persons who had made great fortunes by questionable means subsequently atone -- either themselves or through their heirs and successors -- for their misdeeds by endowing educational institutions that then use the money to...

Reflections ECONOMIC PROSPECTS by Robert Heilbroner. REFLECTIONS on the economy. As the economy slowly recovers and the stock market is buoyant, economists are still worried about our prospects. Even though inflation has subsided, it is hard to imagine a system that is not latently inflation-prone. Our parents were happy to invest in 5% bonds and...

Fiction Illusion of Youth by Arturo Vivante. The writer is in a trench, building the foundation for an addition to his house-digging, shovelling, measuring, laying concrete blocks. Looking up, he sees his painter-friend Jonathon, who asks him why he's doing it. "It gives me an illusion of youth," the writer replies. He feels he is...

The Talk of the Town Beach Q&A by Susan Lardner. Talk story about Ocean Beach on Fire Island. The writer talked to a young friend about new games at the game arcade like Q*bert, Blue Print and Burger Time. The friend told the writer about the most interesting people on the beach, Sue, an 8-year-old Q*bert...

Poetry The Indigo Bunting by Robert Bly. I go to the door often...

Poetry The August Darks by Amy Clampitt. Stealth of the flood tide, the moon dark...