Erica Jong
Erica Jong | |
|---|---|
 Jong in 1977 | |
| Born | Erica Mann March 26, 1942 New York City, United States |
| Pen name | Erica Jong |
| Occupation | Author and teacher |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 1973–present |
| Genre | Primarily fiction and poetry |
| Notable works | Fear of Flying, Shylock's Daughter, Seducing the Demon |
| Spouse | Michael Werthman (1963–1965; divorced) Allan Jong (1966–1975; divorced) Jonathan Fast (1977–1982; divorced; 1 child) Kenneth David Burrows (1989–present)[1] |
| Children | Molly Jong-Fast |
| Website | |
| www | |
Erica Jong (née Mann; born March 26, 1942) is an American author and teacher best known for her fiction and poetry, and particularly for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying. The book became famously controversial for its attitudes towards female sexuality and figured prominently in the development of second-wave feminism. According to Washington Post, it has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.[2]
Career
A 1963 graduate of Barnard College with an MA (1965) in 18th century English Literature from Columbia University, Jong is best known for her first novel, Fear of Flying (1973), which created a sensation with its frank treatment of a woman's sexual desires.[2] Although it contains many sexual elements, the book is mainly the account of a hypersensitive young woman, in her late twenties, trying to find who she is and where she is going. It contains many psychological, humorous, descriptive elements, and rich cultural and literary references. The book tries to answer the many conflicts arising in women in late 1960s and early 1970s America, of womanhood, femininity, love, one's quest for freedom and purpose.
Personal life
Jong was born and grew up in New York City. She is the middle daughter of Seymour Mann (né Nathan Weisman, died 2004), and Eda Mirsky (born 1911). Her father was a businessman of Polish Jewish ancestry who owned a gifts and home accessories company[3] known as "one of the world's most acclaimed makers of collectible porcelain dolls".[4] Her mother was born in England of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, was a painter and textile designer who also designed dolls for her husband's company.[5] 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).[6] Among her nephews is Peter Daou, who writes "The Daou Report" for salon.com.
Jong has been married four times. Her first two marriages, to college sweetheart Michael Werthman, and to Allan Jong, a Chinese American psychiatrist, reflect those of the narrator of Fear of Flying.[citation needed] Her third husband was Jonathan Fast, a novelist and social work educator, and son of novelist Howard Fast. This marriage was described in How to Save Your Own Life and Parachutes and Kisses. She has a daughter from her third marriage, Molly Jong-Fast. Jong is now married to Kenneth David Burrows,[7] a New York litigation attorney. In the late 1990s, Jong wrote an article about her current marriage in the magazine Talk.
Jong lived for three years, 1966–69, in Heidelberg, Germany, with her second husband, on an army base. She was a frequent visitor to Venice, and wrote about that city in her novel Shylock's Daughter.
In 2007, her literary archive was acquired by Columbia University in New York City.
Jong is mentioned in the Bob Dylan song "Highlands" (Time Out of Mind (1997) ). Jong supports LGBT rights and legalization of same-sex marriage and she claims that 'Gay marriage is a blessing not a curse. It certainly promotes stability and family. And it's certainly good for kids.'[8]
Bibliography
Fiction
- 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 of Fanny 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. as Parachutes and Kisses: London: Granada, 1984.)[9]
- Shylock's Daughter (1987): formerly titled Serenissima
- Any Woman's Blues (1990)
- Inventing Memory (1997)
- Sappho's Leap (2003)
- Fear of Dying (Sept. 8, 2015)
Non-fiction
- 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)
- Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave essay, "My Dirty Secret" (2007)
- It Was Eight Years Ago Today (But It Seems Like Eighty)[10] (2008)
Anthology
- Sugar in My Bowl: Real Women Write About Real Sex Ed. Erica Jong (2011)
Poetry
- 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)
Awards
- 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 Award For Literary In Italy
References
- ^ "Erica Jong Marries Kenneth Burrows". The New York Times. August 6, 1989.
- ^ a b Tucker, Neely (7 October 2013). "'Fear of Flying' author Jong zips along 40 years after dropping her literary bombshell". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ "Seymour Mann Passes Away - 2004-03-01 05:00:00". Gifts and Dec. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ As her granddaughter Molly Jong-Fast has written in her memoir, Read from Book, "Grandma Eda painted flowers and children. Grandma’s flower paintings were filled with lavish colors, sensuous shapes, and the hand of her abused housekeeper, who’d been holding the flowers since early the day before. Grandma’s flower paintings were the stuff of midwestern hotel room walls. But Grandma’s portraits of her children and grandchildren seemed to express something more than just a love of flowers or housekeepers: Grandma’s paintings of her family highlighted her distaste for motherhood". See: [2]
- ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths OBERWEGER, GIDEON S". The New York Times. December 31, 2006.
- ^ "Kenneth David Burrows Lawyer Profile on". Martindale.com. 1941-03-26. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ^ Jong, Erica (May 18, 2008). "Hurrah for Gay Marriage". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
- ^ "Parachutes & Kisses". Copac. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ^ Jong, Erica (March 28, 2008). "It Was Eight Years Ago Today (But It Seems Like Eighty)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
External links
- Erica Jong – official site
- Erica Jong at IMDb
- What this woman wants – in-depth interview & profile in The Guardian, April 3, 1999
- Review of Seducing the Demon at Powells.com
- Aging and Sex with Erica Jong – October 3, 2007
- 1942 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American novelists
- 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 University alumni
- Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni
- Jewish American writers
- Jewish feminists
- Jewish American poets
- Jewish women writers
- LGBT rights activists from the United States
- Sex-positive feminists
- Writers from New York City
- 20th-century women writers
- 21st-century women writers
- 20th-century American poets
- 21st-century American poets