Our Far-Flung Correspondents Manatees by Faith McNulty. OUR FAR-FLUNG CORRESPONDENTS about manatees, water mammals of the order Sirenia, thought to be related more to the elephant than to other water mammals. Shaped like a tapered balloon, the manatee weighs 1,000 pounds and measures 10' long. Of the 3 species extant, the healthiest live on the shores...

Onward and Upward with the Arts I-REWRITING AMERICAN HISTORY by Frances FitzGerald. ONWARD AND UPWARD WITH THE ARTS about history textbooks. The books have changed drastically so that today the U.S. that was once uniform is now a patchwork of diverse groups the present is now a tangle of problems; social scientists have greater authority than Presidents; the word "progress" has been...

Fiction South, North, South by Katherine Bouton. The author, Grace, moved to New York ten years ago with her new husband. The first person she met was Anna, her neighbor, 22 and pregnant. It was summer. They spent afternoons indoors watching soap operas. Anna talked about her family, sometimes inventing details. Her husband, Bobby, was away for...

Anniversary Anniversary Song by Heather McHugh. The picture of wedded...

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

Books by John Updike.

Books by John Updike.

The Theatre by Edith Oliver.

The Talk of the Town Now This by Ian Frazier. Talk story about the International Radio and Television Society's Newsmaker Luncheon at the Waldorf. 750 broadcasters and guests attended. The presidents of the entertainment divisions of ABC, CBS and NBC answered questions regarding ratings, television audiences and scheduling. Robert A. Daly, president of the entertainment division of CBS is reported...

The Current Cinema The Altman Bunker by Pauline Kael. Review of Altman's film "Quintet...

Jazz by Whitney Balliett.

Comment by James Stevenson. Eighth Avenue in the Forties is a mean part of the city, and on a bitter, windy night it is extra sad; even the drifters are in a hurry. As we walked down the avenue one evening last week, the bright lights of the peep shows and porno movies seemed...

Around City Hall Symbols by Andy Logan. the White House sent word that it had never felt that the failure to build the Charlotte St. project would signal the end of special effort in the S. Bronx. The Mayor ignored this message & tried to change the minds of the board members who voted negatively. Finally on...

The Talk of the Town Lorraine Marchi by Suzannah Lessard. Talk story about Mrs. Lorraine Marchi who founded the National Association for Visually Handicapped with headquarters at 40 East 19 St. She got into this work through her eldest son, Gene, Jr., who has only peripheral vision. When Gene was in the first grade, in San Francisco in 1951, his...

The Talk of the Town To Market by Mark Singer. Talk story about the firefighters of Engine Co. 14 on E. 18th St. who drive their fire engine to an A. & P. on Sixth Ave. in the Village to shop for lunch and dinner everyday. Cornelius O'Rourke, captain and commanding officer of Engine Co. 14, calls this "taking the...

Affairs of State by Richard H. Rovere. Pres. Carter, speaking of the visit by Chinese Vice-Premier Teng Hsiao-ping said it marked the beginning of a "new and irreversible course" in Sino-American relations. Writer comments that it is a rash negotiator who says that anything not fixed by treaty is irreversible. Implicit in Carter's present...

Fiction Lobster Night by Veronica Geng. An account of a long night with visits to a great many restaurants and night clubs. The writer starts out with Earl at the Cafe Chromosome - it was her birthday. They meet Stan and Florine. During the evening partners are switched several times. Each place they visit has an intriguing...

Poetry Pink Dog by Elizabeth Bishop. The sun is blazing and the sky is blue...

Poetry Sonnet by Seamus Heaney. He lived there in the unsayable lights...