The New Yorker Magazine March 14, 2011 (Vol. LXXXVII. No. 4) (Cover) " Hope Is the Thing with Feathers, Reporter At Large The Gulf War"

COMMENT Pessoptimism A view of the Middle East today. by Wendell Steavenson THE TALK OF THE TOWN Rebellion The women of Tahrir Square reunite. by Jenna Krajeski Feathers Mike Tyson and his pigeons. by Reeves Wiedeman Girls' Best Friends Van Cleef & Arpels diamonds on display. by Lizzie Widdicombe Hair Fair French and American theorists host a symposium on hair. by Mark Singer PERSONAL HISTORY Lessons from Late Night Rules to play by in comedy. by Tina Fey SHOUTS & MURMURS And the Oscar Will Go to... by Anthony Lane AMERICAN CHRONICLES Twilight The man who invented old age. by Jill Lepore Primary Sources: An excerpt from G. Stanley Hall's "Senescence: The Last Half of Life." A REPORTER AT LARGE The Gulf War An investigation into the BP oil spill. by Raffi Khatchadourian FICTION "Going for a Beer" by Robert Coover THE THEATRE "That Championship Season," "Good People." by John Lahr A CRITIC AT LARGE The films of Abbas Kiarostami. by David Denby BOOKS Wild Bill Donovan's adventures. by Louis Menand Briefly Noted:"The Illumination"; "We, the Drowned"; "Alice Neel"; "Townie." MUSICAL EVENTS The sound of politics. by Alex Ross THE ART WORLD Kazimir Malevich's legacy. by Peter Schjeldahl THE CURRENT CINEMA "Take Me Home Tonight," "Hall Pass," "Jane Eyre." by David Denby POEMS "Cagnes-sur-Mer 1950" by Jorie Graham "The Imagined" by Stephen Dunn Ed Schmidt's "My Last Play." by Hilton Als Andris Nelsons and the New York Philharmonic. by Alex Ross TABLES FOR TWO Bab al Yemen by Nick Paumgarten