Wow, This glimpse at ur-Yuppie parenting is only one of the many gems in Maria Bustillos' piece on 1970s child publishing prodigy Alexandra Sheedy
In June of 1977, when Sheedy was fifteen, a piece on "A Young Writers Salon" appeared in the Times describing The Children's Literary Group, a gang of about two dozen would-be authors ranging in age from 10 to 17. This "salon" was held "at Charlotte Sheedy's place on West 86th Street in Manhattan."So awesome. Though who'd be cruel enough to call a kid "dumpling-shaped" in his first Times appearance?They are the sons and daughters of book publishers, writers, editors, poets, lawyers, publicists, artists, teachers and psychiatrists, but above all, adults who love words."It might sound a little braggish," says Daniel Pinchbeck, a dumpling-shaped 10-year-old with a broken front tooth [...] "But most of the kids' mothers are in publishing and we've been subjected to more literature and stuff--more knowledge of books."
The Poetry of Ally Sheedy [the awl]
Pinchbeck is worth Googling.