Comment by Adam Gopnik. Comment about the Republican Convention in Houston, and the historical fantasy employed, from Ronald Reagan quoting a credo of Lincoln which Lincoln never offered, to George Bush's invoking of Harry Truman as a model. In his acceptance of the nomination speech Bush spoke movingly of his experience in the Second...

The Talk of the Town Andrew by Lisa Liebmann. Talk Story about Hurricane Andrew that recently hit Miami Beach. Describes the build-up, the hurricane itself and its immediate aftermath. Writer decided, during NYC's spell of rain, to go to Miami Beach for the weekend. Talk of the hurricane divided people into those who were anxious about it and...

The Talk of the Town Glitch by Richard Cohen. Talk story about the Glitch telephone network, which, it turns out, is Janet Pensig's answering machine. The network, which can be reached at (212) 228-7514, is a call-in service that casts a glaring light each week on some dark alley that science is currently leading us down. In the...

The Talk of the Town Irresistible by Guy Trebay. Talk Story about Shorty, the Burmese python, owned by Tasia Echevarria. Shorty has just turned 8 and is 13 feet long. Tasia also has Tiny, another Burmese python who is 5 and already 10 feet long. Shorty and Tasia are out at Coney Island almost every weekends working the boardwalk...

Fiction Frisco Shift Sparks Hegira Flurry by Bruce McCall. Casual that begins with the news that the San Francisco Giants' plan to relocate in St. Petersburg, Florida, was overshadowed by a series of other announcements that various tourist spots, Rhode Island, the White House, etc. were all moving as well. Cleveland, Ohio, will move to Disneyland, which will relocate...

Fiction Great Barrier Reef by Diane Johnson. The narrator, who had just endured a custody battle, and her lover, J., took a 5-day cruise to see the Great Barrier Reef, a longtime passion of J.'s. For him, the narrator said, travel was a natural opium; she was not fond of it. The ship and its...

Annals of the Former World I-ASSEMBLING CALIFORNIA by John McPhee. First part of a three-part ANNALS OF THE FORMER WORLD about geology of California. Tells about the geography of the Sierra Madre mountains, and the tectonic forces which shaped California, as well as about gold mining in the Sierra Madres. The continent once ended far to the east. Mentions...

A Reporter at Large OPEN ROAD TO PEACE by Milton Viorst. A REPORTER AT LARGE about the Israeli Labor Party's return to power, under Yitzhak Rabin. The Knesset election took place June 23, bringing down the Likud Party government of Yitzhak Shamir. Rabin's government is expected to be more progressive in peace negotiations. Rabin came to power over his Labor-rival...

The Current Cinema FREE TO BE ELVIS by Terrence Rafferty.

Letter from Washington by Elizabeth Drew. Tells about the Republican National Convention in Houston. However cynically and irresponsibly, George Bush and the Republican Convention sought to get the President out of a corner and redefine the Presidential Campaign. Before the Convention, Bill Clinton was ahead in the polls by 20 points. Polls taken since the Convention...

Poetry In the Night Without End by Mark Strand. In the night without end, in the soaking dark...

Poetry The Reappeared by Vijay Seshadri. Long after we stopped remembering, word of him...

Poetry At The Optometrist's by Nancy Willard. This is a fearful place...