JONG, ERICA

JONG, ERICA (1942– ), U.S. novelist and poet. Born Erica Mann in New York, where she was educated and began to write poetry, she lived in Heidelberg, Germany, from 1966 to 1969, where her husband (from whom she was later divorced) was serving in the U.S. Army. Her experiences there were featured in the autobiographical novel Fear of Flying (1973). In Germany she continued to write poetry which began to evolve a feminist outlook. In 1971, she published her first collection of poetry, Fruits and Vegetables, much of which explored the position of women as artists. Her second volume of poetry, Half-Lives (1973), continued to explore feminist and psychological issues. The publication of Fear of Flying established her popularity as a novelist. The novel, which describes the search for self-identity and analyses the upbringing, neuroses, and sexuality of its heroine, Isadora Wing, mirrored much of Jong's own intellectual background and Jewish upbringing. It includes a chapter describing her life in Germany and its effect on her Jewish consciousness. The novel's sexual frankness sparked much controversy. In 1977, she published her second novel, How to Save Your Own Life, a sequel to Fear of Flying, which explored Isadora Wing's experiences with fame, divorce, and new relationships. This was followed in 1980 by Fanny: Being the True History of the Adventures of Fanny Hackabout-Jones, a contemporary "18th-century novel" describing the adventures of a female Tom Jones. Jong has also published volumes of poetry, Loveroot (1975) and At the Edge of the Body (1979). Numerous novels and books of poetry followed. In 1994 Jong published her autobiography, Fear of Fifty, followed in 2006 by Seducing the Demon on the writing life. In 1982 she was awarded title of Mother of the Year, while she served as president of the Authors   Guild of the United States between 1991 and 1993. In 1998 she published a collection of essays. What Do Women Want? She is regarded as one of the most significant authors to have been produced by the feminist movement. -ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: C. Templin (ed.), Conversations with Erica Jong (2002). (Susan Strul / Rohan Saxena (2nd ed.)