The Art World (The Art Galleries) by Calvin Tomkins.

Comment Comment, Pt. I by Jonathan Schell. Not since Richard Nixon was driven from office under threat of impeachment has the country witnessed a more dramatic reversal of popularity & political fortune that the recent abrupt deline of the Reagan Administration, brought about by the spreading secret-funding-for-secreat-arms-shipments-to-Iran-in-return-f...

Fiction Retirement Benefits by George Booth. Eight drawings with captions showing the various pleasures of retirement, such as "Gambol in the meadow," and "Eat breakfast every morning at the Sumptuous Plum...

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

Books by John Updike.

The Theatre MAKING GOOD by Brendan Gill.

Fiction Home to Marie by Ann Beattie. Narrator & his wife, Marie, are setting up for a cocktail party. His wife has hired a caterer who comes to the house & sets everything up, while the narrator's wife tells him about prospective guests. His wife has left home twice in the 3 years they've been reconciled. Marie...

Our Far-Flung Correspondents POPOCATEPETL by Jeremy Bernstein. OUR FAR-FLUNG CORRESPONDENTS about climbing Popocatepetl, a volcano about 40 miles from Mexico City... Most travelers to Mexico City--known everywhere in the country simply as "Mexico"--arrive by air... To the east & southeast of the city lie 3 of the most beautiful high mountain volcanoes in the...

The Talk of the Town Chilly by William McKibben. Talk story about the Shorewalkers & a hike along the edge of the Harlem River Gorge. The Manhattan street plan deviates from its basic grid only twice-once, of course, below 14th St., in the twisting welter of alleys & side streets & diagonals that make up the financial district...

Profiles I-CONVERSATIONS WITH KIRSTEIN by McNeil Lowry. PROFILE of Lincoln Kirstein, gen. director of the New York City Ballet & pres. of the Sch. of American Ballet. Writer quotes from 7 conversations with Kirstein on his involvement with the arts. The talks took place between Nov., 1983 & June, 1984, during the difficult transition period following Balanchine's...

Comment Comment, Pt. II by William McKibben. A comment about Nicaragua. From the March, 1986, report on "Human Rights in Nicaragua"(a report that covers violations by both the Sandinistas & the Contras)issued by the Americas Watch monitoring group, writer quotes three passages. Tells about violent acts reported as perpetrated by the Contras...

The Talk of the Town Breaker of Tiles by William McKibben. Talk story about Avram Lucian Iusan, who styles himself as the World's Strongest Man. He lives in Long Island City, Queens, where the writer visited him & his wife, Valeria. Writer noticed his handshake as being alarming. The heel of his palm has developed, over a lifetime of breaking ceramic...

The Current Cinema FAMILIES by Pauline Kael.

Poetry Howard Hughes Leaves Managua: Peacetime, 1972 by Pamela Alexander. The car is comfortable...

Poetry Vaucanson by John Ashbery. It was snowing as he wrote...