Interviews
An Interview with Erica Jong
Barnes & Noble.com: Seducing the Demon is subtitled "Writing for My Life." What demon are you referring to?
Erica Jong: I was thinking of a story by I. B. Singer called "Taibele and Her Demon." In it, a beautiful and virtuous young woman sleeps with a man who claims to be a demon.
The demon is creativity. She sleeps with risk-taking. You can't be an artist or author without risk-taking, and sometimes the risks are sexual.
B&N.com: How did the
Seducing the Demon project originate?
EJ: I was working on a book of advice for young writers. I started to tell the stories of my life -- the ones I was too scared to reveal -- and I got hooked. My credo is: Don't cut funny. And they were funny, so I published them.
B&N.com: Is writing therapeutic for you?
EJ: Not really. It makes me happy but has always led to other problems. Telling the truth always has consequences.
B&N.com: What's the one bit of advice you wish you'd gotten when you were starting out?
EJ: Humor is as serious as pomposity. Ignore self-appointed literary "experts."
B&N.com: There's an ongoing debate about how the worlds of fiction and memoir sometimes intersect. Should anyone who reads a contemporary memoir expect everything in it to be absolutely true?
EJ: Of course we all see the truth through our emotional lens. That should go without saying. But when I call the book a memoir, the incidents really happened. My opinions about them are my own.
B&N.com: How has becoming a grandmother affected your writing?
EJ: I see the world as continuing beyond my own death, thank God.
B&N.com: Would you ever consider writing a children's book?
EJ: Yes. I hope to write one for Max, my grandson.
B&N.com: In
Seducing the Demon, you accuse the Bush administration of misusing words as it tries to further its agenda. What's the worst example of that you've witnessed?
EJ: Their calling coffins "transfer cases" to avoid the term "body bags."
B&N.com: Were you surprised that your daughter, Molly Jong-Fast, has followed in your illustrious footsteps and become a writer herself?
EJ: I was surprised but not surprised. Actually, I'm flattered.
B&N.com: Is it true you're working on a sequel to
Fear of Flying?
EJ: Yes. The fourth Isadora book. Isadora is in her mid-50s. Wish me luck!