The Talk of the Town Hair by Jamaica Kincaid. Talk story about the shaving of actor John Schuck's head in a hotel barbershop. Schuck is replacing Reid Shelton as Daddy Warbucks in "Annie," while Shelton takes a 3-week vacation. He has played the part for 26 months. Schuck lost his beautiful head of hair on June 26 at...

The Talk of the Town Waiting by Joan Bennet. Talk story about a visit to a line of cars in front of an Exxon gasoline station on West 96th St. and stretching for several blocks. People began lining up for gas at 6 a.m. and some have been waiting 4 hours. Writer lists what people are doing as they...

Fiction The Help by Mary A. Robison. A black cook and maid named Lola, in her 30s, feels indispensable to the people she has worked for for 4 years: a wealthy Texan, transplanted to Indiana named Mr. Cleveland, 67, and Howdy, 24, his irresponsible son. Howdy drives Lola to a shopping center in his M.G. He buys...

The Sporting Scene INVERNESS, WITH DUE RESPECT by Herbert Warren Wind. THE SPORTING SCENE about the U.S. Open Golf Championship at Inverness in Toledo, Ohio, won by Hale Irwin. He won by two shots over Jerry Pate and Gary Player. For the writer the 1979 Open was divided into two parts: the first two rounds when Tom Watson, the odds-on...

Fiction In The Name Of Bobby by Julio Cortazar. Eight-year-old Bobby lives with his mother and his aunt, who narrates the story. He has bad dreams about his mother but doesn't think they're dreams. He says his mother is cruel to him at night. He speaks to his aunt more than he does to his mother. His...

Books by George Steiner.

Profiles Mamaji-I by Ved Mehta. PROFILE of the writer's mother (Shanti Devi Mehta) & history of her family, a Hindu family in India. Writer tells, especially, about her father, called Babuji by him. Babuji was born in Peshawar on Nov. 25, 1872, and named Durga Das (Servant of Durga). His parents were Bulaki Ram and...

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

Dancing by Arlene Croce.

The Current Cinema EXTRAVAGANCE AND THRIFT by Susan Lardner.

The Talk of the Town Clinic by Wallace White. Talk story about the growing number of legal clinics which offer legal services at fixed prices. For the past few months local TV channels have been carrying a commercial for such services by a firm called the Legal Clinic of Jacoby & Meyers. The commercial is a result of a...

Comment by James Stevenson. A while ago, our street caved in. Halfway down the block, one day, a big crater appeared - about 30 feet long and almost as wide as the street. Casual observers could peer down past pipes and rubble into mysterious deeps; they could stand on the sidewalk and discuss the situation...

The Talk of the Town Delivery by Mark Singer. Talk story about the delivery of blocks of limestone to the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, at 113th St. and Amsterdam Ave. and the ceremony that followed. Charles Semon, a trucker with the Moon Freight Lines of Bloomington, Indiana, hauled the limestone from there. A brass ensemble heralded...

The Talk of the Town Shadows by James Stevenson. Illustrated talk story about standing on Forty-sxith Street between Fifth and Sixth one morning at 9 AM, conducting a study of shadows cast by the sun slanting down on the street, the sidewalk, and the sides of buildings. Writer found a variety of shadow types beyond the Basic Pedestrian...

Poetry Easy As Wind by Grace Schulman. Easy as wind that lifts white pine...

Poetry Stories by William Heyen. A few hours before Heinrich...