Comment by Mark Danner. A comment about Haiti. Two weeks ago, when Haitian soldiers deposed their country's President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the United States reacted quickly and forcefully, cutting off foreign aid and freezing Haiti's assets in this country. "Until President Aristide's government is restored, this junta will be treated as a pariah," Secretary...

The Talk of the Town Jet Noise by James Lardner. Talk story about efforts by New Jersey residents to reduce noise from overhead jets in their neighborhoods. The writer went on an inspection tour of battle sites in the war between New Jerseyans and jet noise--a tour inspired by the recent announcement of what Sec. of Transportation Samuel Skinner...

The Talk of the Town Smooth by George W. S. Trow. A talk story about Howard and Meredith Murad. Dr. Murad is a dermatologist and Mrs. Murad is an aethetician. The Murads run a skin-care institute and day spa called A Sense of Self, which is located at 11677 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood, California. The Murads' special ingredient in their...

Fiction Carried Away by Alice Munro. In 1917, Louisa runs the public library in Carstairs, Ontario. She settled there after working as a travelling saleslady. She receives a letter from a local soldier, away at the front. She does not remember meeting him, but a correspondence develops, and the soldier, Jack Agnew, eventually declares his love...

Profiles II-MOVING TO RICHLAND by Philip Schuyler. PROFILE of James L. Acord, Jr., a nuclear materials sculptor who moved to Richland, Washington, a town originally built for workers at the Hanford Site, a US government reservation. Describes his work with Fiesta ware, a especially radioactive Mango Red glazed ceramic ware, which contains uranium. Tells ahout his troubles...

MOVING TO RICHLAND Nuclear Sculptor by Lee Willis.

The Theatre ANGST IN BOHEMIA by Edith Oliver.

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

The Current Cinema by Terrence Rafferty.

Books by John Updike.

The Film File Livin’ Large! by Michael Sragow. The problem with this film is thinkin’ small. Michael Schultz’s farce about a young black video-news freak (Terrence “T.C.” Carson) who becomes “homeboy about town” for an Atlanta TV station starts out heartless yet cheerful. Carson has enough gumption and ebullience to get viewers on his side when he grabs...

The Film File The Fisher King by Michael Sragow. This hundred-and-thirty-seven-minute endurance test is the story of a former New York City “shock jock” (Jeff Bridges) who befriends a schizoid former medievalist (Robin Williams) and joins his quest for the Holy Grail. The garish filigree of the gonzo director, Terry Gilliam, surrounds this fable of redemption with pseudo-originality. The...

Poetry Landscape with Onlooker by William Matthews. One night shy of full, fat as a beachball, the moon...

Poetry Learning German by Cynthia Zarin. Barbed letters a bramble or thicket...

Poetry Jealousy: The Mirror by C. K. Williams. The way these days she dresses with more attention to go...