This issue celebrates the great American tradition of literary humor and investigates the future of the medium. Brendan Gill ponders his varied career in a Writers-at-Work Interview, and reflects on New Yorker humorists from Thurber to Frazier. Also featured: Jay McInerney, Fran Leibowitz, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Howard Stern, and Mona Simpson. Photos & illustrations.