COVER STORY
In Oprah We Trust
By Bobby Maddex 

BOOK
Crying in the Wilderness
The life and work of Flannery O'Connor
By Stanley Booth
Plus: An interview with O’Connor painter Laura Lasworth 

BOOK
Still Digging
An interview with writer William Gass
By Richard Abowitz 

THEATER
The Prieboy Principle
Can Axl Rose—excuse me, an Axl-like character—revolutionize musical theater?
By Lou Harry 

MUSIC
To the Moon
Jayson Whitehead talks with Grasshopper of Mercury Rev and Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux about two of Gadfly’s favorite albums of 1998.

MUSIC
This Year's Gadfly Faves
An abridged list of the sounds that did it for us this year

LET IT BLEED
Roll up! Roll up! for Mick's Yuletide Special
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus thirty years on
By David Dalton 

IDEAS
The Canonization of Pulp
By Greg Bottoms 

TELEVISION
The Cultural & Historical Ramifications of Saved by the Bell
By Daniel Kraus 

ART
A Stroke of Genius
Reflections on Jackson Pollock's retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art
By David Dalton 

NEW ARTIST
Sweet Promise
An interview with singer/songwriter Mary Cutrufello
By Greg Bottoms 

FILM
Hail the Conquering Hero
The films of Preston Sturges
By Richard Abowitz

REVIEWS
Happiness, James Carter Quintet, the paintings of Gabriele Münter and more