Fiction Running Through The Wall by Frank Gannon. Writer bases this humorous piece about celebrity book signing on a quote from the Associated Press about the actress Joan Collins autographing 1000 copies of her novel, "Prime Time," in 1 hour at Harrod's Department store in London. This feat set a new record at Harrod's. In 1974 Chuck Barris...

Books by Terrence Rafferty.

Personal History PROMETHEAN FIRE by Ved Mehta. PERSONAL HISTORY about writer's student days at Pomona College in Calif. He was a sophomore in the fall of 1953. He found the atmosphere parochial. The place came to seem stifling in all sorts of ways. He wanted to go to a larger, cosmopolitan university. In Dec. he had interviews...

Comment by James Lardner. The N.Y. State Lottery was created 22 years ago, with the dual purpose of luring clientele away from the traditional numbers game & providing a new source of funds for public education. It has accomplished all that & then some. The lottery has gradually evolved from one form of betting...

Fiction Snow by Charles Baxter. 12 year old Russell& his older brother Ben drive out to Five Oaks Lake(MI)one Saturday afternoon in January to see the car that went through the ice two nights ago. On their way, they pick up Ben's girlfriend, Stephanie. Russell likes Stephanie, her smile, her laugh. Sitting...

Books by Terrence Rafferty.

The Talk of the Town Wobbly by Mark Hertsgaard. Talk story about the recovery of Joe Hill's ashes. Hill, a legendary labor activist&songwriter, was executed by a Utah firing squad in 1915. In a simple ceremony, custody of l Hill's ashes was formally transferred to Frederick Lee, chairman of the general executive board of the Industrial Workers...

The Talk of the Town Mural by Brendan Gill. Talk story about the centennial celebration of John La Farge's mural in the chancel of the Church of the Ascension located on 5th Ave. &10th St. The mural has just been restored as part of the renovation of the church as a whole. Ascension was designed in 1840 by...

Books by Terrence Rafferty.

The Sporting Scene HARMONY AND PROGRESS by E. J. Kahn. THE SPORTING SCENE about the 24th Olympiad in Seoul, South Korea... Writer can recall no Games, from 1964 on, when the home folks seemed to eager to participate & to make everything come out all right. What contributed to the atmosphere of safety was the presence of North Korea's major...

The Talk of the Town Nothing Unusual by Adam Gopnik. Talk story about a friend of the writer who tells how he& his wife found their downtown loft 5 years ago from an ad in the Times. They called on the landlady to see the loft &found it just as it was described--spacious, sunny&rent stabilized...

The Theatre THEATRE FROM DOWN UNDER by Mimi Kramer.

Poetry Heaven And Earth House by Mary Swander. Three drops under the tongue...

Poetry Jerome by Stephen Mitchell. In Durer's engraving...