ABSTRACT
The picture of an integrated system of stars, journals and circles exaggerates present reality. While most of the leading intellectuals are members of the leading circles there are important exceptions; some significant circles contain insignificant members; and while some journals have a coterie of contributors, the relation between journals and intellectuals is looser than it may once have been. Not only are replacements for the current generation of leading intellectuals difficult to find, and not only is it hard to predict which will be the leading intellec-
tual journals of the next decade, but the very warp and woof of the fabric of intellectual interaction has been seriously weakened. The circles still exist; they are important; they do contain important people, but they are not tightly linked nor are they solely reflective of New York or its intellectual journals.l
A novelist who delights in living in the countryside miles from New York offered allusions to other countries and other eras.
