Erica Jong facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Erica Jong
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Jong in 1977
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| Born | Erica Mann March 26, 1942 New York City, U.S. |
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| Alma mater | Barnard College (BA) Columbia University (MA) |
| Period | 1973–present |
| Genre | Primarily fiction and poetry |
| Notable works | Fear of Flying, Shylock's Daughter |
| Spouse |
Michael Werthman
(m. 1963, divorced)Allan Jong
(m. 1966, divorced)Jonathan Fast
(m. 1977, divorced)Kenneth David Burrows
(m. 1989; |
| Children | Molly Jong-Fast |
| Relatives | Howard Fast (father-in-law) |
Erica Jong (née Mann; born March 26, 1942) is an American novelist, satirist, and poet, known particularly for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying, which figured prominently in the development of second-wave feminism. According to The Washington Post, it has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, while by 2022, the New York Times claimed that it had sold more than 37 million copies worldwide.
Early life and education
Jong was born on March 26, 1942. She is one of three daughters of Seymour Mann (died 2004), and Eda Mirsky (1911–2012). Her father was a businessman of Polish Jewish ancestry who owned a gifts and home accessories company known for its mass production of porcelain dolls. Her mother was born in England of a Russian Jewish 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). Among her nephews is Peter Daou, who is a Democratic Party strategist. Jong attended New York's The High School of Music & Art in the 1950s, where she developed her passion for art and writing. As a student at Barnard College, Jong edited the Barnard Literary Magazine and created poetry programs for the Columbia University campus radio station, WKCR.
Career
Jong is best known for her first novel, Fear of Flying (1973). The book addresses some of the conflicts that were arising for women in late 1960s - early 1970s America - - of womanhood, femininity, and relationships, versus the quest for freedom and purpose. The saga of the thwarted fulfillment of Isadora Wing continues in two further novels, How to Save Your Own Life (1977) and Parachutes and Kisses (1984).
Personal life
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 married Jonathan Fast, a novelist, social work educator, and son of novelist Howard Fast. 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.
Jong lived on an army base in Heidelberg, West Germany, for three years (1966–69) with her second husband. 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 "Highlands", the closing song of Bob Dylan's Grammy Award-winning album Time Out of Mind (1997), as a "women author" that the narrator reads.
Jong supports LGBT rights.
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 American Literature In Italy
Documentary
- 2023 Erica Jong - Breaking the Wall by Kaspar Kasics.
