Erica Jong: Seducing the Demon

Erica Jong's latest memoir is brilliant -- I love it! It's funny, wise, witty, erotic, entertaining, sparkling, fascinating, sweet, and lovely. That's quite an array of attributes for one book, and I'm not exaggerating. I highly recommend Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life (New York: Jeremy P.Tarcher/Penguin, 2006) to all open-minded adults who can read (or listen to the audio version).

Erica Mann Jong (3/26/42-) conveys vitality, drama and excitement in everything she's written (at least the works that I've read). A Jewish American from New York City, she was raised in an ambitious and intellectual family milieu. She began as a successful poet before widening her gyre to produce all sorts of trans-genre writing. She is a strong advocate for women artists of all kinds, and her ability to write candidly about sexual mores and desires is highly commendable. She is the real thing -- exactly the kind of writer we need more of. Here's a link to her official website: http://www.ericajong.com/

Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life is filled with incisive observations and musings about a variety of writer-related matters. Her thoughts about other artists, the writing life, friends, family, former lovers (good, bad, and horrible), alcohol, fame, sex, popular conceptions and misconceptions -- in short, about a wide range of interconnected topics -- make this a perfect companion for anyone who writes or likes to think about such things. It's also a very fun read.

At some point, after I read it again, I'll probably make more specific comments about her manifold ideas and hilarious stories about certain men -- and Martha Stewart. As I read it the first time, I found myself agreeing with 99% of her assertions and observations; I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book. It works as sheer entertainment, but it also has depth and pragmatic value that inspires thinking and self-exploration. And she is completely right: we need many more high-impact books by women in circulation. Men have dominated the literary field for thousands of years -- we're long overdue for gender balance in this as in most cultural and political "spheres of influence."

Bravo, Erica Jong!