Every country gets the circus it deserves. Spain gets bullfights. Italy gets the Catholic Church. America gets Hollywood.

Erica Jong
Novelist

Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.

Erica Jong
Novelist

Fame means millions of people have the wrong idea of who you are.

Erica Jong
Novelist

Friends love misery, in fact. Sometimes, especially if we are too lucky or too successful or too pretty, our misery is the only thing that endears us to our friends.

Erica Jong
Novelist

Gossip is the opiate of the oppressed.

Erica Jong
Novelist

He who can take advice is sometimes superior to him who can give it.

Erica Jong
Novelist

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.

Erica Jong
Novelist

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.

Erica Jong
Novelist

If you don't risk anything, you risk even more.

Erica Jong
Novelist

In a bad marriage, friends are the invisible glue. If we have enough friends, we may go on for years, intending to leave, talking about leaving - instead of actually getting up and leaving.

Erica Jong
Novelist