Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life
by Erica Jong
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Description
Jong began this book as a guide for aspiring writers. It was to be a book full of practical advice, inspiring examples, and sage wisdom--but she quickly realized that writing such a book would be dishonest, a way to veil the difficult nature of the writer's life with platitudes and encouragement. A demon out of an Isaac Singer story whispered in Jong's ear: "Tell the truth!" She knew she had no choice but to obey. Jong tells us she writes "to get my life down on paper so it can never be show more extinguished," and "to keep from going mad." This, then, is the sublime and salacious story of one writer's long and successful career as a poet, novelist, and feminist provocateur. Equally candid about the privileges of fame and the slaps of notoriety, Jong is above all loyal to the importance of telling the truth in an age of lies.--From publisher description. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Fun meditation on writing and life. When we write about our lives we change how we remember them and the people in our lives. Plus, insightful thoughts on fame and mingling with the famous.
This memoir is full of juicy anecdotes and valuable insights, but at the same time, it seems as if it were thrown together. The appearance of an anachronistic detail in one of the anecdotes caused me to doubt somewhat the book's veracity, but one should always beware novelists; that's what Jong herself writes. The book is worth reading for the insights on the writing process and the life of a writer.
An intriguing look at the life of writer Erica Jong, including her views on writing, politics, feminism, relationships, and motherhood. It's particularly interesting given some of Jong's experiences and the people with whom she has associated over the years. Also delves into her feelings regarding her daughter, Molly, and the terrifying drug addiction she lived through in her teen years. In some ways, I found this memoir more interesting than Jong's fiction.
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Feminists' memoirs/autobiographies
38 works; 11 members
Author Information
46+ Works 8,924 Members
Erica Jong was born on March 26, 1942. She received a B.A. from Barnard College and a M.A. in 18th Century English Literature from Columbia University. She also attended Columbia University's graduate writing program where she studied poetry. She has written numerous volumes of poetry, novels, and non-fiction works including Fruits and Vegetables, show more Fear of Flying, How to Save Your Own Life, Parachutes and Kisses, Sappho's Leap, Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life, and It Was Eight Years Ago Today (But It Seems Like Eighty). She has received numerous awards including the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature, Poetry magazine's Bess Hokin Prize, the Deauville Award for Literary Excellence, and the Sigmund Freud Award for Literature. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Sedurre il demonio
- Original title
- Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life
- Original publication date
- 2006
- People/Characters
- Sylvia Plath; Margaret Atwood; Graham Greene; Henry Miller
- Related movies
- Obscene (2007 | IMDb)
- First words
- Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote a wonderful story called "Taibele and Her Demon."
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The love of words is clearly in his genes. The story is not over yet.
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Biography & Memoir, Fiction and Literature, Literature Studies and Criticism
- DDC/MDS
- 808.5409 — Literature & rhetoric Literature, rhetoric & criticism Composition Public Speaking, Debate Slam Poetry And Storytelling
- LCC
- PS3560 .O56 .Z475 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1961-
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 184
- Popularity
- 177,290
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.65)
- Languages
- 5 — Dutch, English, German, Italian, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 2
