Erica Jong
Erica Jong | |
|---|---|
 Jong in 1977 | |
| Born | Erica Mann March 26, 1942 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation |
|
| Alma mater | Barnard College(BA) Columbia University(MA) |
| Period | 1973–present |
| Genre | Primarily fiction and poetry |
| Notable works | Fear of Flying,Shylock's Daughter,Seducing the Demon |
| Spouse | Michael Werthman
(m.1963, divorced)Allan Jong
(m.1966, divorced)Kenneth David Burrows
(m.1989; died 2023) |
| Children | Molly Jong-Fast |
| Relatives | Howard Fast(father-in-law) |
| Website | |
| www | |
Erica Jong(néeMann;born March 26, 1942) is an American novelist, satirist, and poet, known particularly for her 1973 novelFear of Flying.The book became famously controversial for its attitudes towardsfemale sexualityand figured prominently in the development ofsecond-wave feminism.According toThe Washington Post,it has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide,[2]while by 2022, theNew York Timesclaimed that it had sold more than 37 million copies worldwide.[citation needed]
Early life and education
[edit]Jong was born on March 26, 1942.[1]She is one of three daughters of Seymour Mann (died 2004), and Eda Mirsky (1911–2012).[3]Her father was a businessman of Polish Jewish ancestry who owned a gifts and home accessories company[4]known for its mass production of porcelain dolls. Her mother was born in England of aRussianJewish immigrant family, and was a painter and textile designer who also designed dolls for her husband's company.
Jong has an elder sister, Suzanna, who married Lebanese businessman Arthur Daou, and a younger sister, Claudia, a social worker who married Gideon S. Oberweger (the chief executive officer of Seymour Mann Inc. until his death in 2006).[5]Among her nephews isPeter Daou,who is a Democratic Party strategist.[6]
Jong attended New York'sThe High School of Music & Artin the 1950s, where she developed her passion for art and writing. As a student atBarnard College,Jong edited theBarnard Literary Magazine[7]and created poetry programs for theColumbia Universitycampus radio station,WKCR.[citation needed]In 1963, Jong graduated fromBarnard College,and in 1965, with an MA in18th centuryEnglish LiteraturefromColumbia University.
Career
[edit]
Jong is best known for her first novel,Fear of Flying(1973), which created a sensation with its frank treatment of awoman's sexual desires,[2]through an account of Isadora Wing, a woman in her late twenties, searching for who she is and where she is going. Jong employed psychological and humorous descriptive elements, rich cultural and literary references, frank depictions of and ruminations on sex.
The book addresses some of the conflicts that were arising for women in late 1960s - early 1970s America - - of womanhood, femininity, sex, and relationships, versus the quest for freedom and purpose.[8]The saga of the thwarted fulfillment of Isadora Wing continues in two further novels,How to Save Your Own Life(1977) andParachutes and Kisses(1984).
Personal life
[edit]Jong has been married four times. After a brief marriage to Michael Werthman while at Barnard, and another in 1966 to Allan Jong, a Chinese American psychiatrist, in 1977 she marriedJonathan Fast,a novelist, social work educator, and son of novelistHoward Fast.[1]This marriage was described inHow to Save Your Own LifeandParachutes and Kisses.She has a daughter from her third marriage,Molly Jong-Fast.The first three marriages ended in divorce. Jong was married to Kenneth David Burrows, a New York litigator, until his death on December 14, 2023.[9]
Jong lived on an army base inHeidelberg,West Germany, for three years (1966–69) with her second husband. She was a frequent visitor toVenice,and wrote about that city in her novelShylock's Daughter.
In 2007, her literary archive was acquired byColumbia Universityin New York City.
Jong is mentioned in "Highlands",the closing song ofBob Dylan's Grammy Award-winning albumTime Out of Mind(1997), as a "women author" that the narrator reads. She is also satirized on theMC Paul Barmantrack "N.O.W.", in which the rapper fantasizes about a young leftist carrying a fictitious Jong book titledAmerica's Wrong.[10]
Jong supportsLGBTrights and legalization ofsame-sex marriage:"Gay marriage is a blessing not a curse. It certainly promotes stability and family. And it's certainly good for kids."[11]
Bibliography
[edit]
Fiction
[edit]- Fear of Flying(1973)
- How to Save Your Own Life(1977)
- Fanny, Being the True History of the Adventures of Fanny Hackabout-Jones(1980) (a retelling ofFanny Hill)
- Megan's Book of Divorce: a kid's book for adults;as told to Erica Jong; illustrated by Freya Tanz. New York: New American Library (1984)
- Megan's Two Houses: a story of adjustment;illustrated by Freya Tanz (1984; West Hollywood, CA: Dove Kids, 1996)
- Parachutes & Kisses.New York: New American Library (1984) (UK ed. asParachutes and Kisses:London: Granada, 1984.)[12]
- Shylock's Daughter(1987): formerly titledSerenissima
- Any Woman's Blues(1990)
- Inventing Memory(1997)
- Sappho's Leap(2003)
- Fear of Dying(September 8, 2015)[13]
Non-fiction
[edit]- Witches;illustrated by Joseph A. Smith. New York: Harry A. Abrams (1981)
- The Devil at Large: Erica Jong on Henry Miller(1993)
- Fear of Fifty: A Midlife Memoir(1994)
- What Do Women Want? bread roses sex power(1998)
- Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life(2006)
- Essay, "My Dirty Secret".Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave(2007)
- Essay, "It Was Eight Years Ago Today (But It Seems Like Eighty)"[14](2008)
Anthology
[edit]- Sugar in My Bowl: Real Women Write About Real SexEd. Erica Jong (2011)
Poetry
[edit]- Fruits & Vegetables(1971, 1997)
- Half-Lives(1973)
- Loveroot(1975)
- At the Edge of the Body(1979)
- Ordinary Miracles(1983)
- Becoming Light: New and Selected(1991)
- Love Comes First(2009)
- The World Began with Yes(Red Hen Press,2019)
Awards
[edit]- Poetry Magazine's Bess Hokin Prize (1971)
- Sigmund Freud Award For Literature (1975)
- United Nations Award For Excellence In Literature (1998)
- Deauville Award For Literary Excellence In France
- Fernanda Pivano AwardFor American Literature In Italy
Documentary
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abc"Erica Jong papers, 1955–2018 bulk 1965–2004".Columbia University Libraries Archival Collections.Columbia University.Archived fromthe originalon May 22, 2022.RetrievedMay 22,2022.
- ^abTucker, Neely (October 7, 2013)."'Fear of Flying' author Jong zips along 40 years after dropping her literary bombshell ".The Washington Post.RetrievedFebruary 28,2014.
- ^"Eda Mirsky Mann, painter, mother of novelist Erica Jong - The Boston Globe".The Boston Globe.The Associated Press.RetrievedMay 22,2022.
- ^"Seymour Mann Passes Away - 2004-03-01 05:00:00".Gifts and Dec. Archived fromthe originalon March 22, 2009.RetrievedOctober 19,2013.
- ^"Paid Notice: Deaths OBERWEGER, GIDEON S".The New York Times.December 31, 2006.
- ^Nichols, Alex (September 26, 2017)."The Strange Life of Peter Daou".The Outline.RetrievedDecember 20,2018.
- ^"Erica Jong Helps Barnard's Budding Writers".Columbia University Record.October 11, 1996.RetrievedMay 22,2022.
- ^"Jong, Erica" inCurrent Biography Yearbook 1997.New York / Dublin: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1997. p. 248
- ^"Erica Jong Marries Kenneth Burrows".The New York Times.August 6, 1989. Archived fromthe originalon November 13, 2013.
- ^""N.O.W." [annotated lyrics] ".Genius.RetrievedMarch 26,2019.
- ^Jong, Erica (May 18, 2008)."Hurrah for Gay Marriage".The Huffington Post.RetrievedOctober 18,2013.
- ^"Parachutes & Kisses".Copac.RetrievedOctober 20,2009.
- ^Pitlor, Heide (September 11, 2015)."Review ofFear of Dyingby Erica Jong ".The New York Times.
- ^Jong, Erica (March 28, 2008)."It Was Eight Years Ago Today (But It Seems Like Eighty)".The Huffington Post.RetrievedOctober 18,2013.
- ^"Erica Jong - Breaking the Wall".IMDB.March 18, 2023.RetrievedMarch 18,2023.
- ^Haemmerli, Thomas (March 21, 2023)."Kaspar Kasics on his film on Erica Jong"(Video).RetrievedMarch 21,2023.
External links
[edit]
- Erica Jong– official site
- "Erica's 20 Rules for Writers".Erica Jong (ericajong ).
- Erica JongatIMDb
- "What this woman wants"– in-depth interview & profile inThe Guardian,April 3, 1999
- Review ofSeducing the DemonatPowells
- Aging and Sex with Erica Jong – October 3, 2007
- Interview onFruits and Vegetablesat theWNYCArchives
- 1942 births
- 20th-century American novelists
- 20th-century American poets
- 20th-century American women writers
- 21st-century American Jews
- 21st-century American novelists
- 21st-century American poets
- 21st-century American women writers
- American feminist writers
- American people of English-Jewish descent
- American people of Polish-Jewish descent
- American people of Russian-Jewish descent
- American women novelists
- American women poets
- Barnard College alumni
- Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
- The High School of Music & Art alumni
- Jewish American poets
- Jewish feminists
- Jewish women writers
- American LGBT rights activists
- Living people
- Novelists from New York (state)
- Sex-positive feminists
- Writers from New York City