Erica Jong's Birthday
[ 26 March 2007 ]
“You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.”
I just noticed that today is Erica Jong‘s birthday. It was written in my Moleskine. She is 65 today. Happy Birthday Erica!
Erica is a brilliant, prolific writer, whose most successful book so far has been Fear Of Flying. I bought it because I vaguely recalled the name, & once I started reading it, I was absolutely obsessed. I would sometimes read it under my desk, in secret, at work. It also made me laugh out loud on the bus several times — the sign of a great book. My copy is marked with streaks of pink where I highlighted the “best bits”.
“Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow that talent to the dark place where it leads.”
Potential ways to celebrate:
Read Fear Of Flying or any of her other books
Look at your husband & consider his flaws
Spend time on the Upper West Side of Manhattan
Consider a tawdry affair with your therapist
Write her quotes on your window or mirror in whiteboard pen
Read Erica’s weekly tips for writers
Remember this: “People don’t complete us. We complete ourselves. If we haven’t the power to complete ourselves, the search for love becomes a search for self-annihilation; & then we try to convince ourselves that self-annihilation is love.”
“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk everything, you risk even more.”
Love letters & feather headdresses,
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ahhh yes… that is a great book.
At first I didn’t really like it, as I didn’t really relate to the quest for the zipless fuck ... but as it went on and talked about her insecurities and just wanting security and wanting to be loved… but needing to be complete in one’s self… then I related to it.
Heh.
Sounds like a book i’m going to have to read.
great post, i’m glad you’ve introduced her to us :D
I’m going to respond to this post even though you wrote it ages ago. I checked out Fear of Flying from the library when you mentioned it in another post (I came back to this one months later by searching for your thoughts on her). I just wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I rarely comment on here, but that’s mostly because I know I’m just another sheep in the crowd of iCiNG lovers. But maybe this one will catch your eye.
Erica Jong changed my life. I feel like I’m her sometimes. She’s helped me decide to leave my boyfriend and live the way I want to live. And I have to thank you for that, along with thanking you for turning me onto Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg and Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.
You’re the best. ;-) I really hope to meet you one day. I hope to be like you too.
Yaffa — That is wonderful, sweetheart. Yes, Fear Of Flying is completely amazing, it really opened up my mind a whole lot! Big kisses.