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Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life
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304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Erica Jong
117 books851 followersErica Jong—novelist, poet, and essayist—has consistently used her craft to help provide women with a powerful and rational voice in forging a feminist consciousness. She has published 21 books, including eight novels, six volumes of poetry, six books of non-fiction and numerous articles in magazines and newspapers such as the New York Times, the Sunday Times of London, Elle, Vogue, and the New York Times Book Review.
In her groundbreaking first novel, Fear of Flying (which has sold twenty-six million copies in more than forty languages), she introduced Isadora Wing, who also plays a central part in three subsequent novels—How to Save Your Own Life, Parachutes and Kisses, and Any Woman's Blues. In her three historical novels—Fanny, Shylock's Daughter, and Sappho's Leap—she demonstrates her mastery of eighteenth-century British literature, the verses of Shakespeare, and ancient Greek lyric, respectively. A memoir of her life as a writer, Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life, came out in March 2006. It was a national bestseller in the US and many other countries. Erica’s latest book, Sugar in My Bowl, is an anthology of women writing about sex, has been recently released in paperback.
Erica Jong was honored with the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature. She has also received Poetry magazine's Bess Hokin Prize, also won by W.S. Merwin and Sylvia Plath. In France, she received the Deauville Award for Literary Excellence and in Italy, she received the Sigmund Freud Award for Literature. The City University of New York awarded Ms. Jong an honorary PhD at the College of Staten Island.
Her works have appeared all over the world and are as popular in Eastern Europe, Japan, China, and other Asian countries as they have been in the United States and Western Europe. She has lectured, taught and read her work all over the world.
A graduate of Barnard College and Columbia University's Graduate Faculties where she received her M.A. in 18th Century English Literature, Erica Jong also attended Columbia's graduate writing program where she studied poetry with Stanley Kunitz and Mark Strand. In 2007, continuing her long-standing relationship with the university, a large collection of Erica’s archival material was acquired by Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, where it will be available to graduate and undergraduate students. Ms. Jong plans to teach master classes at Columbia and also advise the Rare Book Library on the acquisition of other women writers’ archives.
Calling herself “a defrocked academic,” Ms. Jong has partly returned to her roots as a scholar. She has taught at Ben Gurion University in Israel, Bennington College in the US, Breadloaf Writers’ Conference in Vermont and many other distinguished writing programs and universities. She loves to teach and lecture, though her skill in these areas has sometimes crowded her writing projects. “As long as I am communicating the gift of literature, I’m happy,” Jong says. A poet at heart, Ms. Jong believes that words can save the world.
In her groundbreaking first novel, Fear of Flying (which has sold twenty-six million copies in more than forty languages), she introduced Isadora Wing, who also plays a central part in three subsequent novels—How to Save Your Own Life, Parachutes and Kisses, and Any Woman's Blues. In her three historical novels—Fanny, Shylock's Daughter, and Sappho's Leap—she demonstrates her mastery of eighteenth-century British literature, the verses of Shakespeare, and ancient Greek lyric, respectively. A memoir of her life as a writer, Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life, came out in March 2006. It was a national bestseller in the US and many other countries. Erica’s latest book, Sugar in My Bowl, is an anthology of women writing about sex, has been recently released in paperback.
Erica Jong was honored with the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature. She has also received Poetry magazine's Bess Hokin Prize, also won by W.S. Merwin and Sylvia Plath. In France, she received the Deauville Award for Literary Excellence and in Italy, she received the Sigmund Freud Award for Literature. The City University of New York awarded Ms. Jong an honorary PhD at the College of Staten Island.
Her works have appeared all over the world and are as popular in Eastern Europe, Japan, China, and other Asian countries as they have been in the United States and Western Europe. She has lectured, taught and read her work all over the world.
A graduate of Barnard College and Columbia University's Graduate Faculties where she received her M.A. in 18th Century English Literature, Erica Jong also attended Columbia's graduate writing program where she studied poetry with Stanley Kunitz and Mark Strand. In 2007, continuing her long-standing relationship with the university, a large collection of Erica’s archival material was acquired by Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, where it will be available to graduate and undergraduate students. Ms. Jong plans to teach master classes at Columbia and also advise the Rare Book Library on the acquisition of other women writers’ archives.
Calling herself “a defrocked academic,” Ms. Jong has partly returned to her roots as a scholar. She has taught at Ben Gurion University in Israel, Bennington College in the US, Breadloaf Writers’ Conference in Vermont and many other distinguished writing programs and universities. She loves to teach and lecture, though her skill in these areas has sometimes crowded her writing projects. “As long as I am communicating the gift of literature, I’m happy,” Jong says. A poet at heart, Ms. Jong believes that words can save the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
January 10, 2008
I discovered Jong's 1973 debut FEAR OF FLYING in my basement at 14, and it was the most thrilling overnight-read of my life. I spied it on a forgotten shelf on a private quest for a “sex book,” which was any book in which sex was implied, discussed, or— please, lord— described. The front cover featured a woman's full hips and the curve and shadow of the underneath of her breasts; the rest of her body, and her face, obscured by what looked to me like a cream satin body bag, unzipped.
The book, (and its heroine, Isadora Wing,) was rapid-fire hilarious, packed with a million offhand insights that made me shake my teenage fists and say "yeah!" It presented a view of feminism I hadn't considered (I was brought up to believe that girls were just as good as boys, that I could be whatever I wanted to be, and all that Mr. Rogers bullshit, but of course, being Catholic, love and sex and relationships were never part of the dialog. And they're the most important parts, when you get down to it.)
The book swelled with the ideas that fascinated me. Ideas of foreign travel, misfit girls who become brilliant women, the writing life, cracked families, New York, academia, marital failure, lots of drinking and talking and poetry, and loads of exciting, sexy men. And ultra-hot fantasies. The actual sex, the actual men, were never as fulfilling as the fantasies. I remember that disappointing me. The brilliant symphony conductor had poor hygiene. The mad poet was actually homicidally insane. The charming, badassed Brit was impotent. Of course, the disconnect between fantasy and reality was not a failure of the book. It was kind of the point. I kind of missed it. I was 14. I also missed a sort of bratty narcissism, which SEDUCING makes plain.
SEDUCING would only be of interest if you have read Jong's fiction, and even then, if you have read her Isadora Wing books, you know all you need to know about Jong. I like this memoir best when she is talking about writers and writing-- she makes fascinating speculations about what modern public life would make of Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, etc., and she writes honestly about how she goes about seeking a state of creativity (the "demon" of the title is something like a muse.) She takes on alcohol, Hollywood, Washington, the perversion of language. And she is still pretty fucking funny. (On skinny women: "In life, she reminds you of Auschwitz. In bed, she feels like a bicycle. But in photos, she looks like a goddess.")
She still writes endlessly about sex. I don't know if this makes me a prude, or simply a slut for fiction, but as much as I love reading Isadora Wing's fantasy-fucks, I don't love reading about Erica Jong's real-life fucks; and I'm equally as bothered by real-life infidelity as I am intrigued by infidelity in fiction. That she slept with Martha Stewart's husband is not one bit interesting to me. Her analysis of it is-- but that's the point: I'd rather read her work that analysis into a novel than read her claiming her name-dropping place in pop culture.
More than anything, SEDUCING invites me to revisit FEAR OF FLYING, to reclaim my age 14 memory of the brave, hungry, motormouthed Isadora. But I know I cannot recapture that experience, after high school, after college, after studying literature, after my own travels and debauchery and failures at love and writing. I keep thinking of a scene in FEAR, when everything has fallen apart for Isadora, when her husband has left, and she realizes the man for whom she gave up everything was just playing with her, and she is desperate and lost in a seedy hotel room in Paris with nothing, nothing, nothing but her notebooks, and she begins to write herself out.
It is this, the power of writing, that is Jong's real revolution. Not Isadora Wing's fantasy of the Zipless Fuck, not Erica Jong's legacy as a trailblazing author and good lay, but the idea that writing can actually save your life.
The book, (and its heroine, Isadora Wing,) was rapid-fire hilarious, packed with a million offhand insights that made me shake my teenage fists and say "yeah!" It presented a view of feminism I hadn't considered (I was brought up to believe that girls were just as good as boys, that I could be whatever I wanted to be, and all that Mr. Rogers bullshit, but of course, being Catholic, love and sex and relationships were never part of the dialog. And they're the most important parts, when you get down to it.)
The book swelled with the ideas that fascinated me. Ideas of foreign travel, misfit girls who become brilliant women, the writing life, cracked families, New York, academia, marital failure, lots of drinking and talking and poetry, and loads of exciting, sexy men. And ultra-hot fantasies. The actual sex, the actual men, were never as fulfilling as the fantasies. I remember that disappointing me. The brilliant symphony conductor had poor hygiene. The mad poet was actually homicidally insane. The charming, badassed Brit was impotent. Of course, the disconnect between fantasy and reality was not a failure of the book. It was kind of the point. I kind of missed it. I was 14. I also missed a sort of bratty narcissism, which SEDUCING makes plain.
SEDUCING would only be of interest if you have read Jong's fiction, and even then, if you have read her Isadora Wing books, you know all you need to know about Jong. I like this memoir best when she is talking about writers and writing-- she makes fascinating speculations about what modern public life would make of Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, etc., and she writes honestly about how she goes about seeking a state of creativity (the "demon" of the title is something like a muse.) She takes on alcohol, Hollywood, Washington, the perversion of language. And she is still pretty fucking funny. (On skinny women: "In life, she reminds you of Auschwitz. In bed, she feels like a bicycle. But in photos, she looks like a goddess.")
She still writes endlessly about sex. I don't know if this makes me a prude, or simply a slut for fiction, but as much as I love reading Isadora Wing's fantasy-fucks, I don't love reading about Erica Jong's real-life fucks; and I'm equally as bothered by real-life infidelity as I am intrigued by infidelity in fiction. That she slept with Martha Stewart's husband is not one bit interesting to me. Her analysis of it is-- but that's the point: I'd rather read her work that analysis into a novel than read her claiming her name-dropping place in pop culture.
More than anything, SEDUCING invites me to revisit FEAR OF FLYING, to reclaim my age 14 memory of the brave, hungry, motormouthed Isadora. But I know I cannot recapture that experience, after high school, after college, after studying literature, after my own travels and debauchery and failures at love and writing. I keep thinking of a scene in FEAR, when everything has fallen apart for Isadora, when her husband has left, and she realizes the man for whom she gave up everything was just playing with her, and she is desperate and lost in a seedy hotel room in Paris with nothing, nothing, nothing but her notebooks, and she begins to write herself out.
It is this, the power of writing, that is Jong's real revolution. Not Isadora Wing's fantasy of the Zipless Fuck, not Erica Jong's legacy as a trailblazing author and good lay, but the idea that writing can actually save your life.
June 10, 2009
You know, I'm not sure if this is gauche or not, but I love Erica Jong. I love her fearlessness, her ability to talk about desire and her ability to talk about meeting famous people like Henry Miller and Barbra Streisand. I love that she's irreverent and candid and imperfect and makes mistakes. I love that she talks about sex and women in such an honest way.
This book contained a lot of interesting info and stories on writing, the writing life, and Jong's life. It came along at the perfect time since I'm now working on some difficult writing myself. Jong's words answered questions I didn't know that I needed answers for.
This book contained a lot of interesting info and stories on writing, the writing life, and Jong's life. It came along at the perfect time since I'm now working on some difficult writing myself. Jong's words answered questions I didn't know that I needed answers for.
Read
February 5, 2009Jong, who has never managed to repeat the success of Fear of Flying, which she penned at the age of 31, offers a memoir whose original intention__to give advice to aspiring writers__is lost in a haze of largely unconnected and, according to many critics, gratuitous anecdotes. Though Jong has written 19 other books, the spirit of Isadora Wing, Fear of Flying's heroine, haunts her at every turn. As a result, Seducing the Demon feels derivative. Some critics applaud Jong for remaining steadfastly honest in her analysis of her own personal life and offering her thoughts on writing. Others conclude that, her debt to Isadora Wing paid in full, Jong might want to tilt at new windmills.
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
June 27, 2008
I'll admit it: I'm an aspiring writer. As a result, I have a love of memoirs or books about writing that are written by the ranks of those artists I wish to join. So I have no doubt my own desire has played a role in how much I enjoyed Seducing the Demon.
Browsing through Barnes & Noble one lovely evening after work (isn't it always lovely once you can clock out and get the hell away from your desk?), I was wandering away from the shelf that contained every Marguerite Duras book I already own and none of the ones I don't, when I happened to look to my left. There sat Erica Jong's Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life, face out along the edge of the shelf. I stopped. I picked it up. I bought it. (And later laughed as she recounted within about how, when she first published Fear of Flying, her father would go to every bookstore in town and turn all of her books so the covers faced out and covered up the other books on the shelf.)
It's certainly not the best book I've ever read, but it was quite good, insightful, and most importantly, damn entertaining. There are good points and bad points, and for me at least, the good far outweighed the bad.
This is a memoir about her life as a writer, from the time she published her first book Fear of Flying and rocketed to fame up until the present. Jong pulls off a wonderful and delicate balancing act between retelling her early days in the business and discussing the state of her life, career, motivations, and creativity today. It's not easy to cover thirty+ years, especially when one chooses not to do so in a linear fashion, but Jong succeeds wonderfully, see-sawing back and forth seamlessly with excellent transitions so the reader isn't jarred out of the story or left confused.
Seducing the Demon is a quick read, but not so quick you feel as if you've been cheated out of your money. Beach reading material, as they say, but it lingers with you far longer than your average romance novel. Many topics strike a chord with the reader whether the reader wants them to or not.
One thing that may turn a reader off: it's always risky discussing politics when one is in the public eye, but Jong doesn't hold back. She doesn't harp on her political leanings, nor does she shy away from them. If you're a George W. Bush fan, you may find yourself rather offended. Then again, if you're a George W. Bush fan, you're probably not reading Erica Jong in the first place.
Seducing the Demon is insightful, raw, honest, and direct, all to incredible affect. Jong's not afraid to discuss her own naivety or stupidity over the course of her career, nor does she shy away from pointing out the times she acted like a complete ass or made a fool of herself. When she relates tales of her at her best, they can be touching. Overall, the result is refreshing. Beware, however: Jong's honesty slips into narcissism in a few spots, which could irritate the reader. There's some shameless self-promotion of both herself and her daughter. The former seems to go with the territory, as it's a book specifically about her and her life as a famous writer, while the latter can be forgiven in the context, as Jong plainly loves and adores her daughter above and beyond her talent. I found her references to her daughter's career as motherly, full of love and pride, but easily the reaction of the reader could go the other way into irritation at this woman "pimping" her daughter.
Drawing a lot of her knowledge about her own experience, specifically her battle against alcoholism, Jong discusses at length the apparent connection between creativity, addiction, and crippling depression. She cites examples from her own life as well as her contemporaries and those who came before her, making it very clear how many succumbed to addiction or took their own lives, even as they produced some enduring pieces of literature. Sylvia Plath, whom Jong holds in high regard, as well as Anne Sexton, whom Jong states she knew personally in the years leading up to her suicide and considered a mentor. As she discusses a delicate and heartbreaking subject, Jong comes dangerously close to romanticizing the life and death of Sylvia Plath, which I think indicates a lingering belief within the writing community that addiction, depression, and suicide are all "just part of the life."
Since her debut, Jong has been known as a sexual writer. On the one hand this is freeing; on the other, it can lead to TMI moments in a memoir. Tales of how she once performed oral sex on an aging publisher, her flirtation with Ted Hughes, and the fair amount of time she spends describing the one night stand she had with Martha Stewart's husband were all just a bit too much and, frankly, could have been excised from the final draft without harming the narrative. Entertaining, perhaps, but gossipy. (The retelling of the affair with Stewart's husband was the one sour note in the book for me. Jong seemed to wanting to clear her name, but it truly came off as a tit-for-tat smack back at Martha.)
As a general rule in her writing, Jong uses sex and profanity as a natural progression of the story and of the writing itself, not to shock. Some people may be shocked, yes, but that's not its sole purpose. Neither is overdone, and such freedom in expression is nice to see.
For writers, there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained, though none of the four extended essays are dedicated to giving tips to aspiring writers. Sprinkled all throughout the book are gems of writing advice, inadvertently woven into the text. One of the best parts is her honesty when examining how writing affects family and friends, relating her own experiences and declaring, "Nothing freezes the imagination like family loyalty or political correctness."
All in all, Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life is a wonderful book and a sheer joy to read, despite the few dark spots. Highly recommended to fans of Erica Jong or aspiring writers.
Browsing through Barnes & Noble one lovely evening after work (isn't it always lovely once you can clock out and get the hell away from your desk?), I was wandering away from the shelf that contained every Marguerite Duras book I already own and none of the ones I don't, when I happened to look to my left. There sat Erica Jong's Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life, face out along the edge of the shelf. I stopped. I picked it up. I bought it. (And later laughed as she recounted within about how, when she first published Fear of Flying, her father would go to every bookstore in town and turn all of her books so the covers faced out and covered up the other books on the shelf.)
It's certainly not the best book I've ever read, but it was quite good, insightful, and most importantly, damn entertaining. There are good points and bad points, and for me at least, the good far outweighed the bad.
This is a memoir about her life as a writer, from the time she published her first book Fear of Flying and rocketed to fame up until the present. Jong pulls off a wonderful and delicate balancing act between retelling her early days in the business and discussing the state of her life, career, motivations, and creativity today. It's not easy to cover thirty+ years, especially when one chooses not to do so in a linear fashion, but Jong succeeds wonderfully, see-sawing back and forth seamlessly with excellent transitions so the reader isn't jarred out of the story or left confused.
Seducing the Demon is a quick read, but not so quick you feel as if you've been cheated out of your money. Beach reading material, as they say, but it lingers with you far longer than your average romance novel. Many topics strike a chord with the reader whether the reader wants them to or not.
One thing that may turn a reader off: it's always risky discussing politics when one is in the public eye, but Jong doesn't hold back. She doesn't harp on her political leanings, nor does she shy away from them. If you're a George W. Bush fan, you may find yourself rather offended. Then again, if you're a George W. Bush fan, you're probably not reading Erica Jong in the first place.
Seducing the Demon is insightful, raw, honest, and direct, all to incredible affect. Jong's not afraid to discuss her own naivety or stupidity over the course of her career, nor does she shy away from pointing out the times she acted like a complete ass or made a fool of herself. When she relates tales of her at her best, they can be touching. Overall, the result is refreshing. Beware, however: Jong's honesty slips into narcissism in a few spots, which could irritate the reader. There's some shameless self-promotion of both herself and her daughter. The former seems to go with the territory, as it's a book specifically about her and her life as a famous writer, while the latter can be forgiven in the context, as Jong plainly loves and adores her daughter above and beyond her talent. I found her references to her daughter's career as motherly, full of love and pride, but easily the reaction of the reader could go the other way into irritation at this woman "pimping" her daughter.
Drawing a lot of her knowledge about her own experience, specifically her battle against alcoholism, Jong discusses at length the apparent connection between creativity, addiction, and crippling depression. She cites examples from her own life as well as her contemporaries and those who came before her, making it very clear how many succumbed to addiction or took their own lives, even as they produced some enduring pieces of literature. Sylvia Plath, whom Jong holds in high regard, as well as Anne Sexton, whom Jong states she knew personally in the years leading up to her suicide and considered a mentor. As she discusses a delicate and heartbreaking subject, Jong comes dangerously close to romanticizing the life and death of Sylvia Plath, which I think indicates a lingering belief within the writing community that addiction, depression, and suicide are all "just part of the life."
Since her debut, Jong has been known as a sexual writer. On the one hand this is freeing; on the other, it can lead to TMI moments in a memoir. Tales of how she once performed oral sex on an aging publisher, her flirtation with Ted Hughes, and the fair amount of time she spends describing the one night stand she had with Martha Stewart's husband were all just a bit too much and, frankly, could have been excised from the final draft without harming the narrative. Entertaining, perhaps, but gossipy. (The retelling of the affair with Stewart's husband was the one sour note in the book for me. Jong seemed to wanting to clear her name, but it truly came off as a tit-for-tat smack back at Martha.)
As a general rule in her writing, Jong uses sex and profanity as a natural progression of the story and of the writing itself, not to shock. Some people may be shocked, yes, but that's not its sole purpose. Neither is overdone, and such freedom in expression is nice to see.
For writers, there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained, though none of the four extended essays are dedicated to giving tips to aspiring writers. Sprinkled all throughout the book are gems of writing advice, inadvertently woven into the text. One of the best parts is her honesty when examining how writing affects family and friends, relating her own experiences and declaring, "Nothing freezes the imagination like family loyalty or political correctness."
All in all, Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life is a wonderful book and a sheer joy to read, despite the few dark spots. Highly recommended to fans of Erica Jong or aspiring writers.
February 27, 2009
A must read for all us becoming women of "a certain age"
June 29, 2011
A writer's life may be a solitary one, but in Erica Jong's testament to how writing saved her life, we learn about how the anecdotes of one's life can fill the pages and "people" the writer's world. In the company of one's characters, then, the writer isn't really alone. Writing can also be a way to assuage the pain of difficult childhoods and "reinvent" those times in our lives that are dreary, depressing, or during which we feel powerless.
There is power in the written word, and using that power to narrate one's life or the lives of those we meet along the way brings us (the writers) a unique perspective of those events. Jong says there is really not much of a distinction between autobiography and fiction, as the two seem interchangeable at times. In other words, we use real-life events in our stories, but we also embellish and fictionalize them.
Through doing so, we alleviate the pain of these real events.
She illustrates this by mentioning how "writing was a way of reinventing my own childhood. I could make it more horrible than it was and heal myself that way. Or I could make it better than it was. Both approaches can be curative. In writing, I had power over the very people who made me feel utterly powerless when I was a child. Even the most horrible childhood can be made tolerable just by writing about it."
Throughout this memoir that feels like a guidebook to understanding what drives writers, I was quite intrigued by how she came to write her various works, and specifically, how "Fear of Flying" came about. As a person who came of age during that time, I applaud the moxie it took for her to tell this story, especially during that particular time in history. The fact that the book is still read and selling tells us something about its appeal and the freedom it represents.
"Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life" earned four stars from me. I recommend it for other writers, especially those who simply enjoy knowing more about an individual writer's voice.
There is power in the written word, and using that power to narrate one's life or the lives of those we meet along the way brings us (the writers) a unique perspective of those events. Jong says there is really not much of a distinction between autobiography and fiction, as the two seem interchangeable at times. In other words, we use real-life events in our stories, but we also embellish and fictionalize them.
Through doing so, we alleviate the pain of these real events.
She illustrates this by mentioning how "writing was a way of reinventing my own childhood. I could make it more horrible than it was and heal myself that way. Or I could make it better than it was. Both approaches can be curative. In writing, I had power over the very people who made me feel utterly powerless when I was a child. Even the most horrible childhood can be made tolerable just by writing about it."
Throughout this memoir that feels like a guidebook to understanding what drives writers, I was quite intrigued by how she came to write her various works, and specifically, how "Fear of Flying" came about. As a person who came of age during that time, I applaud the moxie it took for her to tell this story, especially during that particular time in history. The fact that the book is still read and selling tells us something about its appeal and the freedom it represents.
"Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life" earned four stars from me. I recommend it for other writers, especially those who simply enjoy knowing more about an individual writer's voice.
June 29, 2008
Erica Jong's book is both autobiographical and about writing. This book should be recommended to writing students everywhere. Ms. Jong became famous when she was in her 20s for writing her revolutionary novel, "Fear of Flying." I have not yet read this novel, but I will need to add it to my to-read list. I remember in my teens growing up with the feminist movement and sexual revolution. Back in the 1970s, books by woman opening up about sexual freedom were new and refreshing. Now, it is commonplace, such as in "chit lit." However, Erica Jong says that she is glad to see chit lit is popular, mostly just because it means women are reading and writing. She says that her daughter Molly was a "late bloomer." Her daughter grew up in the MTV generation with videos and TV, and thus did not get interested in books and writing until a later age.
Erica talks about fame, about how Hollywood almost made a movie out of her book, "Fear of Flying" but nothing really came of it. And she knew if it had, her vision would have changed, since once you give the rights away, you have no say on what Hollywood would do to your book.
Erica is also a poet and talks about other great women literary poets, such as Sylvia Platt, who committed suicide. Erica indicates that it seemed like many great women writers and poets felt that when they expressed themselves, they then had to punish themselves. She says that many great writers suffer from depression. Writing gives a person a chance to sort though these feelings and reinvent the past to memorialize it, or change it. Make it better than it was, or make it worse. Erica's book flows with a trance of ideas, thoughts, memories and passages. I really liked this book and I look forward to reading more of Jong.
Erica talks about fame, about how Hollywood almost made a movie out of her book, "Fear of Flying" but nothing really came of it. And she knew if it had, her vision would have changed, since once you give the rights away, you have no say on what Hollywood would do to your book.
Erica is also a poet and talks about other great women literary poets, such as Sylvia Platt, who committed suicide. Erica indicates that it seemed like many great women writers and poets felt that when they expressed themselves, they then had to punish themselves. She says that many great writers suffer from depression. Writing gives a person a chance to sort though these feelings and reinvent the past to memorialize it, or change it. Make it better than it was, or make it worse. Erica's book flows with a trance of ideas, thoughts, memories and passages. I really liked this book and I look forward to reading more of Jong.
July 22, 2008
Jong has some valuable tips on writing, but they are buried within the story of her life - which is the main focus of this book. While she has certainly had some noteworthy dalliances and weathered her fair share of events, I would not recommend this book for anyone wanting to exclusively improve their own writing skills.
Interesting stories included in the book: Her relationship with Ted Hughes, and her role in Martha Stewart's divorce. Very salacious!
Interesting stories included in the book: Her relationship with Ted Hughes, and her role in Martha Stewart's divorce. Very salacious!
January 8, 2012
I rarely read books twice - this one I did. After reading the English eBook version I bought myself a paperback copy in German. It's now full of notes, marked paragraphs and post-it's. I loved it and I'm sure I could read the whole thing again... and again.
This book is definitely my favorite <3
This book is definitely my favorite <3
August 17, 2010
Overblown, narcissistic and embarrassing. It's a sad day when Erica Jong's life becomes a bore and we realise we don't give a damn anymore.
November 6, 2018
I have a love/hate relationship with Erica Jong. In university, I read Fear of Flying and, of course, adored it. I was young and on the cusp of pretension, playing with feminist philosophies I didn't even come close to understanding. But, then in my 30s I read How to Save Your Own Life and my interpretation was this: porn disguised as "Feminist Literature," not to mention a plot that rendered the title an oxymoron.
Seducing the Demon is a memoir/writing manual; it's unbelievably bourgeois, ostentatious, narcissistic, and in some instances downright embarrassing. And yet... she'll have these moments of insight and clarity, practicality, and political incorrectness that I cannot resist. For that reason, 4 stars. Call me an optimist.
Seducing the Demon is a memoir/writing manual; it's unbelievably bourgeois, ostentatious, narcissistic, and in some instances downright embarrassing. And yet... she'll have these moments of insight and clarity, practicality, and political incorrectness that I cannot resist. For that reason, 4 stars. Call me an optimist.
November 25, 2021
There were spots in this book that made me cringe with their lewdness and I found myself occasionally wondering if Jong knows she can be honest without feeling the need to tell us EVERYthing, but I loved the book. There were innumerable gorgeous passages, an openness that allowed you to feel as if you were peering into a soul, and there are dozens of passages that I want to remember as I write.
January 30, 2021
I had forgotten what an entertaining and interesting writer jong is. Will have to reread some of her books now.
June 16, 2011
Rarely have I read a book this honest, then again Jong's writing that it's important to her to be honest when writing and she'd definitely managed that in my opinion. The stories told feel strangely alive and having mostly read books for sheer entertainment, coming face to face with a character such as the one of Erica Jong... Well it's something else entirely! Now you could say of course, it's an autobiography, it's a real person after all. But in times of Facebook and other social communities where we try to advertise ourselves as the perfect human beings a flawed character such as Erica Jong is refreshing. I haven't read any of her fictional work but sure will look at one or the other. I like her style of writing. I was able to relate to the 'heroine' even though I hardly had the same experiences nor am I over 50 years of age. And I could find some encouragement in her stories, some parallels and tips - if you want to call them that - for my own stories and writing... This book is by far the book I have scribbled in and highlighted parts the most so far :)
January 7, 2008
I picked up this book from the Bargain Book shelf mainly because I decided that 2008 would be the year of the autobiography (and because I knew that Martha Stewart faults Erica Jong with the end of her marriage - she had an affair with Martha's husband...)
I have never read Fear of Flying, though I, of course, know of it and I will add it to my list. This book increased my interest in it.
In any case, Seducing the Demon is made up of four parts and she manages to weave in her love of reading and writing (both poetry and fiction) with her life. She would argue that the two cannot be seperated. An interesting introduction to a well-known poet and novelist. I wonder if I would give it more stars if I had read Fear of Flying first?
I have never read Fear of Flying, though I, of course, know of it and I will add it to my list. This book increased my interest in it.
In any case, Seducing the Demon is made up of four parts and she manages to weave in her love of reading and writing (both poetry and fiction) with her life. She would argue that the two cannot be seperated. An interesting introduction to a well-known poet and novelist. I wonder if I would give it more stars if I had read Fear of Flying first?
February 2, 2009
I've read enough books by writers on writing. I used to read them avidly, like most of us who write sensless, looking for a clue. Some look for the magic formula that will help them write the book of their life, other look for hope, as if a writer was some sort of preacher. I have looked for both, but after reading quite a few and saying enough with this romantic silliness a writer friend gave me this one and I began to read for entertainments sake. I'd never read anything by Erica Jong and I really liked her simultaneous humble and over the top tale of how she writes. I've learned to read writers on writing to help me manage this weird need that comes charging and threatening to disrupt my balance. I don't search for a formula. I just want to feel in the company of...
March 31, 2009
I wish this book was more about what it is like to be an author. After reading it, I am more convinced that I will never write fiction. Ever.
Perhaps I should have let more time pass after reading "Parachutes and Kisses" as this book made it clear that Jong's writing is more than just influenced by her own life and its events. It was like reading the same book, worded only slightly differently.
My problem with this book wa sthat it was all over the place. I would call only parts of it memoir, the rest was unorganized, out of place babble.
Perhaps I should have let more time pass after reading "Parachutes and Kisses" as this book made it clear that Jong's writing is more than just influenced by her own life and its events. It was like reading the same book, worded only slightly differently.
My problem with this book wa sthat it was all over the place. I would call only parts of it memoir, the rest was unorganized, out of place babble.
June 13, 2009
Bought this years ago when it first came out and read it in one urgent gulp when I needed it most. It's comforting to find out that some of the weirdest things that go on in your head are really a vital part of your profession, and Jong's candidness is startling and refreshing by turns. The stories could've gone into more detail toward the end (the introduction and first chapter are PERFECT and it seems to rush itself a bit after that), and I don't think I agree with her conclusive assertion that writing is murder, but it's a remarkable read when you're on the brink of something.
February 5, 2015
Jag är ett fan av Erica Jong, men denna bok är inte hennes bästa. Vissa delar är bara imponerande, de som handlar om Ericas författarskap. Jag vill veta mer om henes skrivande. Samtidigt är jag inte intresserad om alla detaljer från hennes privata liv som hon ganska frikostigt lämnar ut. Om en författare som redan baserat många sina värk på självbiografiska grejer, tar sig an en självbiografi, kan det lätt bli för mycket ut av det privata tramset.
November 4, 2014
This wasn't as fascinating as her fiction, and while I found it almost a little too back-patting at times, I think it's a good insight into her mind and what motivates and inspires her, as well as her take on some of the other big names in women authors, and the dilemmas we often face. Definitely recommended for anyone who's into Erica Jong, or even just women authors in general.
January 20, 2010
Various thoughts about writing along with some name-dropping, sexual escapades, feminist and political statements, and living quite a privileged life. Mostly entertaining, not especially compelling except for a few brief moments. Makes me think, once again, that I should read Fear of Flying, as it seems that she hasn't escaped its shadow and at this point probably never will.
August 22, 2009
I always love Erica Jong, but this book was a little scattered, for her--moments of brilliance, with some really vague tangents. I LOVE her honesty, always. According to Henry Miller, EJ's first novel would inspire women writers to follow in her footsteps. That was in 1978 or so. So WHERE ARE THEY? I've still not discovered anyone who even comes close to her level of bravery in writing.
September 15, 2010
This book is written for writers or for anyone willing to tell the truth about themselves out in the fresh, clean air. I applaud Jong for being an honest, assertive and intense writer. This is more memoir than a how-to book on writing, but there is much here to encourage all writers to persevere -- for all our sakes
April 4, 2012
I didn't know what to expect when I read this book, considering the only other book I've read by this author was Fear of Flying. It turned out to be a great read. I will always come back to pages 238 and 239, which has her advice about what any creative endeavor requires - a certain rebelliousness, or as she puts it "a fuck you attitude."
March 25, 2013
Erica Jong of course is an amazing writer. She has a way with words that few people possess. For this reason alone her book is worth a read. The thing that made me knock off a star was all her name dropping. I wanted more about writing rather than talking about her famous friends. But still her writing is solid and so is the advice she gives.
February 15, 2008
My favorite lesson from this book is that good writers have to overcome the fear of offending:friends, family members and all those who could find themselves, whether accurately or not, depicted in one's writing.
April 26, 2009
Probably the most readable and least whiny of Jong's most recent books. By the time I read this I had lost the notion that Erica Jong had anything valuable to say about women; she is obsessed with penises and tries to make that a political statement.
June 22, 2009
I adore Jong's work and really wanted this to be a book on writing but was disappointed to find it was a rehash of stories I've already read or heard. What I learned is that she writes about her life which wasn't all that surprising. It was a fun read though.
November 19, 2009
This book is on my desk along with all my other books about writing. She sent me an extra copy that I could mark up with my marginalia and underlining.
I bought it from Brent Books on a Friday after an exhausting week of teaching writing at DePaul.
I bought it from Brent Books on a Friday after an exhausting week of teaching writing at DePaul.
May 17, 2010
This is one of those books where you flip the last page over with your mouth gaping open in shock and awe. Bold. Unapologetic. Self-deprecating. I'll definitely be reading more of her work. I got a fever . . . and the only prescription is more Erica!
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