Quotes By Erica Jong

My generation was not only maligned in book reviews and attacked in graduate school but we lived to see our adored and adorable daughters wonder why feminism had become a dirty word.

Solitude is un-American.

Men and women, women and men. It will never work.

You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.

Women are individuals in parenting, and why not?

I write slowly by hand. Publishing is effectively bankrupt for you unless you are Danielle Steele. It takes a year to write book and advances are going down or disappearing.

Where is Hollywood located? Chiefly between the ears. In that part of the American brain lately vacated by God.

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

Women are not the richer sex. Women are not equal in society.

The trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.

It is the city of mirrors, the city of mirages, at once solid and liquid, at once air and stone.

When I met my husband, I refused to invite him home for Passover because I was embarrassed my mother might serve all the catered dishes in the wrong order.

Sadly, because of the enormous gap between rich and poor, some mothers can afford helpers, but many can't. Those who can would be kinder to refrain from criticizing other women.

I write lustily and humorously. It isn't calculated; it's the way I think. I've invented a writing style that expresses who I am.

All my forebears worked for a living. My grandfather painted portraits. My mother too. My aunt painted seascapes.

At certain historic moments, grandparents took on childrearing responsibilities. In many cultures, they still do. Chinese grandparents who are able to retire at 55 are seen all over Beijing bouncing grandbabies. In the United States, we can't afford to retire at 55.

You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy.

Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.

I thought to spend my declining years writing poetry and teaching - but that won't pay the Bergdorf's bill. I think I'll move to somewhere life is cheaper.

I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back.

I've never been able to control my public image.