Jong, Erica (1942–)

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Jong, Erica (1942–)

American novelist and poet. Born Mar 26, 1942, in New York, NY; dau. of Seymour (importer) and Eda (Mirsky) Mann (painter and designer); Barnard College, BA, 1963; Columbia University, MA, 1965; m. Michael Werthman (div.); m. Allan Jong (child psychiatrist), 1966 (div. 1975); m. Jonathan Fast (writer), 1977 (div. 1983); m. Ken Burrows (lawyer), 1989; children: (3rd m.) Molly Jong-Fast.

Came to prominence with the bestselling Fear of Flying (1973), a "hymn to one woman's sexual liberation" wrote the New York Times; writings include Fruits and Vegetables (1971), Loveroot (1975), How to Save Your Own Life (1977), At the Edge of the Body (1979), Fanny (1980), Ordinary Miracles (1983), Serenissima (1989), Any Woman's Blues (1990) and Sappho's Leap (2003).

See also memoir, Fear of Fifty.