On writers. A dream of a writer: Peter Taylor ; Alice Munro's amazingly ordinary world ; Andre Dubus's spotlights: introduction to We don't live here anymore ; Borderlines, real and imaginary: Elizabeth Spencer's "The runaways" ; Craig Nova casts a line: foreword to Brook Trout and the writing life ; First, let's kill the lawyer: review of Elmore Leonard's Mr. Paradise ; Tell it slant: Nancy Hale's "Flotsam" ; Fire and fireworks: Richard Bausch's "Consolation" ; David Markson's visions and revisions: introduction to This is not a novel & other novels ; My regards to Leo Lerman: review of The grand surprise ; Watching screwball comedies with Harry Mathews ; John Updike's sense of wonder ; My life in bingo
On photographers & other artists. Placing Lincoln: from Lincoln Perry's Charlottesville ; The distillation of lavender: Jayne Hinds Bidaut's photographs ; Scott McDowell's painterly porcelains ; We are their mirror, they are ours: introduction to Sally Mann's At twelve ; Richard Rew's sculpture ; Grant Wood country: a return to the Iowa of the famed painter ; Simpatico in Southbury, Connecticut: Georgia Sheron's photographs: introduction to Uncle John: portraits of a true Yankee farmer ; Questioning the quotidian: Tricia Orr's paintings ; The sirens' call: Joel Meyerowitz's photographs ; The fates' valentine: Holly Wright's unavoidable resonance ; Animating the unextraordinary: the photographs of John Loengard, sleuth: introduction to As I see it ; Andrea Modica and the stuff of fiction ; George Burk's brush-and-ink drawings ; An abbreviated adage underlies Curt Richter's fully developed portraits: introduction to Thousand words ; Bob Adelman brings Raymond Carver's world into focus: introduction to Carver country.