Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman

Among the many items in yesterday's New York Times that are likely to appeal especially to writers (it was tough for me to decide which front-page Arts section article to read first: the review of Neil Hanson's Unknown Soldiers: The Story of the Missing of the First World War, or the John Updike profile) you should have caught Michael Winerip's "On Education" piece, "It's a Tough Life, to Live It and to Write It, but It Just Got a Little Better." The article describes teenager Jessica Atkinson, a remarkable writer, and her remarkable teacher, Rene Miles. Prediction: Jessica Atkinson will have a book out one day, and probably one day in the not-too-distant future.