The Current Cinema by Michael Sragow.

Comment by Mark Hertsgaard. Comment about the current state of Czechoslovakian politics. When Vaclav Havel, the President of Czechslovakia, arrived last week for his second state visit to the U.S., he left behind a country on the verge of tearing itself apart. In late September, in Pague, writer watched from the balcony of the...

The Talk of the Town Firestorm by Owen Phillips. Talk story from a young man in Oakland, California, about the firestorm that recently hit the Bay Area. On Sunday morning, while sitting with his parents and older brother in their house, in the foothills, a hot wind blew from the east, and the blue sky filled with black smoke...

The Talk of the Town Speeches by Richard Cohen. Talk story about the recently released album "Great Speeches of the Twentieth Century," produced by Gordon Skene for Rhino Records. Mr. Skene, 40, a free-lance record producer in Los Angeles, has long collected recordings of speeches. He hopes the album will rescue forgotten public speakers of the past from...

The Talk of the Town Progress by Mark Singer. Talk story about a press conference plugging a new ground-beef product, which was held at the Tavern on the Green. The beef is a product of ConAgra, Inc. and contains only 4% fat as opposed to conventional ground beef, which contains quite a bit more. The audience was asked...

Fiction Artists at the Auto Show by Michael Crawford. Color cartoon spread showing automobiles based on paintings and sculptures: Claude Monet's Hay Rover, Picasso's Taurus LX, Constantin Brancusi's Egg GL, Van Gogh's Tournesol 4x4, Jasper Johns' Old Glory Cabriolet, Debuffet's Brougham, Giacometti's Le Stretch 3005, and Edvard Munch's Jitters GT...

Fiction The Cut by Edna O'Brien. Nell's mother and father were opposed to her marriage to Walter, and to prevent it kept her locked in their house in the Irish countryside. Nell escaped and hitchhiked to Dublin, where she moved in with Walter. They eventually married and moved to London. They had two sons, Paddy and...

Report from Moscow THE COUP by Robert Cullen. REPORT FROM MOSCOW about the failed coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev. Describes the mechanics of the resistance against the coup. Writer interviews Col .Aleksandr Valerianovich Tsalko, who said that the failed coup in Moscow in August was the culmination of a period of imperial decline that began in 1979. Until...

The Theatre FIVE SISTERS by Mimi Kramer.

Jazz by Whitney Balliett.

Around City Hall AROUND CITY HALL YA ME? YA YOU! by Andy Logan. Mayor Dinkins thinks New York City is entitled to financial help from federal agencies or Congress as its residents have made large contributions to the federal treasury. Tells about the hearings on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. The Mayor opposed Thomas from the start. Tells about...

Books From Here to Eternity by Louis Menand.

Poetry Bat by Eamon Grennan. With no warning and only the slightest whishing sound...

Poetry A Home by Thom Gunn. Raised, he said, not at home but in a Home...

Poetry Vespers by Louise Gluck. In your extended absence, you permit me...