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Love Comes First
A volume of original poetic works follows a theme of love, in a gift-appropriate collection that reflects the writer's use of imagery and metaphorical language while exploring the many facets of love from elation to sorrow.
- GenresPoetry
95 pages, Hardcover
First published January 16, 2009
4 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Erica Jong
117 books868 followersErica Jong—novelist, poet, and essayist—has consistently used her craft to help provide women with a powerful and rational voice in forging a feminist consciousness. She has published 21 books, including eight novels, six volumes of poetry, six books of non-fiction and numerous articles in magazines and newspapers such as the New York Times, the Sunday Times of London, Elle, Vogue, and the New York Times Book Review.
In her groundbreaking first novel, Fear of Flying (which has sold twenty-six million copies in more than forty languages), she introduced Isadora Wing, who also plays a central part in three subsequent novels—How to Save Your Own Life, Parachutes and Kisses, and Any Woman's Blues. In her three historical novels—Fanny, Shylock's Daughter, and Sappho's Leap—she demonstrates her mastery of eighteenth-century British literature, the verses of Shakespeare, and ancient Greek lyric, respectively. A memoir of her life as a writer, Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life, came out in March 2006. It was a national bestseller in the US and many other countries. Erica’s latest book, Sugar in My Bowl, is an anthology of women writing about sex, has been recently released in paperback.
Erica Jong was honored with the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature. She has also received Poetry magazine's Bess Hokin Prize, also won by W.S. Merwin and Sylvia Plath. In France, she received the Deauville Award for Literary Excellence and in Italy, she received the Sigmund Freud Award for Literature. The City University of New York awarded Ms. Jong an honorary PhD at the College of Staten Island.
Her works have appeared all over the world and are as popular in Eastern Europe, Japan, China, and other Asian countries as they have been in the United States and Western Europe. She has lectured, taught and read her work all over the world.
A graduate of Barnard College and Columbia University's Graduate Faculties where she received her M.A. in 18th Century English Literature, Erica Jong also attended Columbia's graduate writing program where she studied poetry with Stanley Kunitz and Mark Strand. In 2007, continuing her long-standing relationship with the university, a large collection of Erica’s archival material was acquired by Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, where it will be available to graduate and undergraduate students. Ms. Jong plans to teach master classes at Columbia and also advise the Rare Book Library on the acquisition of other women writers’ archives.
Calling herself “a defrocked academic,” Ms. Jong has partly returned to her roots as a scholar. She has taught at Ben Gurion University in Israel, Bennington College in the US, Breadloaf Writers’ Conference in Vermont and many other distinguished writing programs and universities. She loves to teach and lecture, though her skill in these areas has sometimes crowded her writing projects. “As long as I am communicating the gift of literature, I’m happy,” Jong says. A poet at heart, Ms. Jong believes that words can save the world.
In her groundbreaking first novel, Fear of Flying (which has sold twenty-six million copies in more than forty languages), she introduced Isadora Wing, who also plays a central part in three subsequent novels—How to Save Your Own Life, Parachutes and Kisses, and Any Woman's Blues. In her three historical novels—Fanny, Shylock's Daughter, and Sappho's Leap—she demonstrates her mastery of eighteenth-century British literature, the verses of Shakespeare, and ancient Greek lyric, respectively. A memoir of her life as a writer, Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life, came out in March 2006. It was a national bestseller in the US and many other countries. Erica’s latest book, Sugar in My Bowl, is an anthology of women writing about sex, has been recently released in paperback.
Erica Jong was honored with the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature. She has also received Poetry magazine's Bess Hokin Prize, also won by W.S. Merwin and Sylvia Plath. In France, she received the Deauville Award for Literary Excellence and in Italy, she received the Sigmund Freud Award for Literature. The City University of New York awarded Ms. Jong an honorary PhD at the College of Staten Island.
Her works have appeared all over the world and are as popular in Eastern Europe, Japan, China, and other Asian countries as they have been in the United States and Western Europe. She has lectured, taught and read her work all over the world.
A graduate of Barnard College and Columbia University's Graduate Faculties where she received her M.A. in 18th Century English Literature, Erica Jong also attended Columbia's graduate writing program where she studied poetry with Stanley Kunitz and Mark Strand. In 2007, continuing her long-standing relationship with the university, a large collection of Erica’s archival material was acquired by Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, where it will be available to graduate and undergraduate students. Ms. Jong plans to teach master classes at Columbia and also advise the Rare Book Library on the acquisition of other women writers’ archives.
Calling herself “a defrocked academic,” Ms. Jong has partly returned to her roots as a scholar. She has taught at Ben Gurion University in Israel, Bennington College in the US, Breadloaf Writers’ Conference in Vermont and many other distinguished writing programs and universities. She loves to teach and lecture, though her skill in these areas has sometimes crowded her writing projects. “As long as I am communicating the gift of literature, I’m happy,” Jong says. A poet at heart, Ms. Jong believes that words can save the world.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 14, 2017
Rating: 1.50
I liked one poem. The rest were so boring, I was trying so hard not to fall asleep. The third part, has alot of mythology references, which I kinda liked. Some of the poems, spoke some truth which I can appreciate.
It just wasn't very good. It seemed like the author was trying too hard and it didn't grab my attention. There was no emotion, it was very bland.
I liked one poem. The rest were so boring, I was trying so hard not to fall asleep. The third part, has alot of mythology references, which I kinda liked. Some of the poems, spoke some truth which I can appreciate.
It just wasn't very good. It seemed like the author was trying too hard and it didn't grab my attention. There was no emotion, it was very bland.
August 24, 2011
Loved this one sentiment:
What if our love of sleep
is only a foretaste
of the bliss that awaits us
when we do not have to wake again?
What if our love of sleep
is only a foretaste
of the bliss that awaits us
when we do not have to wake again?
January 5, 2014
I found this book at Bent Pages used bookstore in Houma, LA. This was the first bit of writing that I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it. The poetry was fluid and full of emotion and thought. There are 2 sections in the book- You are There, People Who Can't Sleep,and Aphrodite's laughter. I read the whole book in one sitting.
August 9, 2014
Many times I
cringed at Jong's
apparent total lack
of editorial review--
it's all so
damned earnest and
often insipid. But
there are some
lovely poems inside,
"Continental Divide" and
"Collecting Venetian Glass"
being my favorites.
Overall, though, I
am so, so
tired of poems
that feel more
like sentences broken
into lines that
are always only
three words long.
cringed at Jong's
apparent total lack
of editorial review--
it's all so
damned earnest and
often insipid. But
there are some
lovely poems inside,
"Continental Divide" and
"Collecting Venetian Glass"
being my favorites.
Overall, though, I
am so, so
tired of poems
that feel more
like sentences broken
into lines that
are always only
three words long.
February 6, 2019
There is praise on the back of this book that reads "Fresh, surprising, funny, sexy." Y'know what would be REALLY fresh? Poetry that RHYMES. Yeah, remember when that was a thing? Back when it took actual talent to be a poet and when poetry was actually good. As for sexy, how about this: "For what angry God arching backward over the world, his anus spitting fire...." Oh, wow, Erica, wow...this beautiful example of modern poetry is just so sexy...I'm wet. Yeaaaaah, or not. This collection is a total miss. "Poetry" today is a sham.
(As with all the poetry collections I continue to make the mistake of reading, there's about 2.5ISH poems I KIND of like mixed in throughout this book- reading through the entire collection of BS to find those few, however, doesn't seem worth it, and I don't recommend.)
(As with all the poetry collections I continue to make the mistake of reading, there's about 2.5ISH poems I KIND of like mixed in throughout this book- reading through the entire collection of BS to find those few, however, doesn't seem worth it, and I don't recommend.)
August 3, 2024
Belated start to my Sealey Challenge. I don't think the praise on the book covers matches my personal impressions. Many of them delved into Greek mythology, Biblical references, or aspirations of a bygone age. I liked the vibrancy of the imagery, and the wordplays were easy off the tongue. Many of them were fun to read aloud. A few choice lines got me humming with appreciation. Nothing that blew apart my galaxy, so to speak.
Perhaps I'm not the target demographic though; many of the poems left a sense of wanting and yearning rather than finality in me. Maybe it's ego-driven on my end. Does love always come first in life when many of the examples are from external sources? I wonder. Perhaps that was the point: love always meandering, never quite final despite our many efforts to pin them down. That quality of the book got me to think, and I'm grateful for that.
Perhaps I'm not the target demographic though; many of the poems left a sense of wanting and yearning rather than finality in me. Maybe it's ego-driven on my end. Does love always come first in life when many of the examples are from external sources? I wonder. Perhaps that was the point: love always meandering, never quite final despite our many efforts to pin them down. That quality of the book got me to think, and I'm grateful for that.
October 1, 2019
While certainly not my favorite poems I've read this year, Jong's offerings are still poetry. Lyrical to a fault and occasionally sentimental, I enjoyed these poems nonetheless. I had a pleasant time.
November 27, 2023
This took me forever to read…I was not a fan of her poetry and the usage of Greek mythology incorporated into it with other cultures. I was mostly confused, unfortunately.
November 17, 2016
Fica & Fichi"
L’amore è sempre al centro della vita degli uomini. Amore fisico amore spirituale, amore sacro amore profano, amore poetico amore romanzato, amore eterno amore impossibile, amore strano amore amaro, amore tradito amore fedele ... Potrei continuare con tutti gli aggettivi del vocabolario ed essere sicuro di non sbagliare a dire che questa è la parola più caratterizzata da sempre. Al cinema, in teatro, nelle arti, alla TV, sul web, sulla stampa l’amore che però piace ed impazza di più resta quello legato al sesso. Anche la poesia non sfugge a questa legge. La poesia della scrittrice di cui intendo parlare in questo post ne è un mirabile esempio.
Scrittrice ed anche poetessa l’americana Erica Jong, all’età di quasi settanta anni, continua ad essere una delle donne più impegnate sulla scena letteraria internazionale a ridefinire gli stereotipi femminili lottando e scrivendo contro i miti della sessualità umana. Il suo primo libro di poesie risale al 1971 e d’allora non ha smesso di scrivere di sesso in forma poetica. Nel 1973 ebbe uno straordinario successo anche con un romanzo intitolato “Paura di volare” con il quale diventò un caso letterario con oltre venti milioni di copie vendute. Le sue crude descrizioni di sesso, proposte in un linguaggio del tutto disinibito, hanno sollevato lode e indignazione sia dalle femministe che dai moralisti. Non tutti si sono resi conto che l’atteggiamento che la scrittrice ha nei confronti del sesso e della sessualità è sostanzialmente parodistico della pornografia contemporanea. Essa tende a liberare la donna dalle sue insoddisfazioni piuttosto che esporla sessualmente.
Femminismo e senso di colpa, creatività e sesso sono i temi intorno ai quali ruota il personaggio di Isadora nel suo “Paura di volare” e dei successivi romanzi. La stessa cosa accade con la poesia con il suo primo libro di poesie pubblicato nel 1971 “Fruits & Vegetables” una raccolta di poesie molto sensuali nelle quali la mente femminile elabora poeticamente visioni semiserie, accoppiando frutta e carne. Molti dei motivi che lei elabora non sono altro che rifacimenti di personaggi trattati anche nei romanzi. La lista dei libri di poesia è abbastanza folta: “Half-Lives” (1973); “Loveroot” (1975); “At The Edge Of The Body” (1979); “Ordinary Miracles” (1983); “Becoming Light: New And Selected” (1991). A distanza di quasi venti anni ha pubblicato un’altra raccolta di poesie dalla quale ho tratto questa che segue traducendola liberamente:
Figs - Fichi
Italians know
how to call a fig
a fig: fica.
Mandolin-shaped fruit,
feminine as seeds,
amber or green
and bearing large leaves
to clothe our nakedness.
Gli Italiani sanno
come chiamare un fico:
fica
Un frutto a forma di mandolino,
femminile come i semi,
ambra o verde
per coprire la nostra nudità.
I believe it was
not an apple but a fig
Lucifer gave Eve,
knowing she would find
a fellow feeling
in this female fruit
Io penso che
non fu la mela ma un fico
che Lucifero diede a Eva,
sapendo che lei avrebbe
trovato piacere
in questo frutto femminile
and knowing also
that Adam would
lose himself
in the fig’s fertile heart
whatever the price—
e sapendo anche
che Adamo avrebbe
perso se stesso
nel cuore fertile del fico
a qualunque costo -
God’s wrath, expulsion
angry angels
pointing with swords
to a world of woe.
L’ira di Dio, l’espulsione
degli angeli arrabbiati
condannati dalle spade
verso un mondo di peccato.
One bite into
a ripe fig
is worth worlds
and worlds and worlds
beyond the green
of Eden.
Un morso
nel fico maturo
vale mondi
e mondi e mondi
al di là del verde
dell’Eden.
“Figs” by Erica Jong, from “Love Comes First.” © Penguin Group, 2009.
Certamente ci sarà qualcuno che troverà questa poesia blasfema, irriverente, immorale, specialmente nella chiusa finale allorquando l’autrice sembra ricalcare la famosa espressione “Parigi val bene una messa” con “l’Eden val bene una fica”. Lo fece Adamo, continuano a farlo gli uomini, da sempre. Ma proprio qui si scopre l’abilità poetica della Jong, nell’affermare la concretezza veramente terragna, terrestre e terrena della disobbedienza umana nei confronti del divieto divino: la sfida che i due, Adamo ed Eva, lanciano al loro Creatore scegliendo quel “frutto” tipicamente dell’estate che avrebbe dato loro la possibilità di eguagliarlo. Solo mangiando di quel “frutto” essi avrebbero potuto illudersi di creare la vita, così come lo stesso Creatore aveva fatto con loro. Una intuizione poetica che sembra scavalcare la teologia usando la poesia. Qui al link potete ascoltare Erica Jong parlare di questo libro e del significato che lei dà alla poesia.
P. S. Avrei potuto corredare questo post con opportune immagini facilmente riportabili ai luoghi ed agli strumenti di cui sin dai tempi dell’Eden l’uomo fa uso per esprimere il suo bisogno d’amore e di vita. Non lo faccio perchè credo che non ce ne sia bisogno. Tutti i lettori sanno bene come si “fanno” queste cose per cogliere il bene di questo magnifico frutto estivo.
L’amore è sempre al centro della vita degli uomini. Amore fisico amore spirituale, amore sacro amore profano, amore poetico amore romanzato, amore eterno amore impossibile, amore strano amore amaro, amore tradito amore fedele ... Potrei continuare con tutti gli aggettivi del vocabolario ed essere sicuro di non sbagliare a dire che questa è la parola più caratterizzata da sempre. Al cinema, in teatro, nelle arti, alla TV, sul web, sulla stampa l’amore che però piace ed impazza di più resta quello legato al sesso. Anche la poesia non sfugge a questa legge. La poesia della scrittrice di cui intendo parlare in questo post ne è un mirabile esempio.
Scrittrice ed anche poetessa l’americana Erica Jong, all’età di quasi settanta anni, continua ad essere una delle donne più impegnate sulla scena letteraria internazionale a ridefinire gli stereotipi femminili lottando e scrivendo contro i miti della sessualità umana. Il suo primo libro di poesie risale al 1971 e d’allora non ha smesso di scrivere di sesso in forma poetica. Nel 1973 ebbe uno straordinario successo anche con un romanzo intitolato “Paura di volare” con il quale diventò un caso letterario con oltre venti milioni di copie vendute. Le sue crude descrizioni di sesso, proposte in un linguaggio del tutto disinibito, hanno sollevato lode e indignazione sia dalle femministe che dai moralisti. Non tutti si sono resi conto che l’atteggiamento che la scrittrice ha nei confronti del sesso e della sessualità è sostanzialmente parodistico della pornografia contemporanea. Essa tende a liberare la donna dalle sue insoddisfazioni piuttosto che esporla sessualmente.
Femminismo e senso di colpa, creatività e sesso sono i temi intorno ai quali ruota il personaggio di Isadora nel suo “Paura di volare” e dei successivi romanzi. La stessa cosa accade con la poesia con il suo primo libro di poesie pubblicato nel 1971 “Fruits & Vegetables” una raccolta di poesie molto sensuali nelle quali la mente femminile elabora poeticamente visioni semiserie, accoppiando frutta e carne. Molti dei motivi che lei elabora non sono altro che rifacimenti di personaggi trattati anche nei romanzi. La lista dei libri di poesia è abbastanza folta: “Half-Lives” (1973); “Loveroot” (1975); “At The Edge Of The Body” (1979); “Ordinary Miracles” (1983); “Becoming Light: New And Selected” (1991). A distanza di quasi venti anni ha pubblicato un’altra raccolta di poesie dalla quale ho tratto questa che segue traducendola liberamente:
Figs - Fichi
Italians know
how to call a fig
a fig: fica.
Mandolin-shaped fruit,
feminine as seeds,
amber or green
and bearing large leaves
to clothe our nakedness.
Gli Italiani sanno
come chiamare un fico:
fica
Un frutto a forma di mandolino,
femminile come i semi,
ambra o verde
per coprire la nostra nudità.
I believe it was
not an apple but a fig
Lucifer gave Eve,
knowing she would find
a fellow feeling
in this female fruit
Io penso che
non fu la mela ma un fico
che Lucifero diede a Eva,
sapendo che lei avrebbe
trovato piacere
in questo frutto femminile
and knowing also
that Adam would
lose himself
in the fig’s fertile heart
whatever the price—
e sapendo anche
che Adamo avrebbe
perso se stesso
nel cuore fertile del fico
a qualunque costo -
God’s wrath, expulsion
angry angels
pointing with swords
to a world of woe.
L’ira di Dio, l’espulsione
degli angeli arrabbiati
condannati dalle spade
verso un mondo di peccato.
One bite into
a ripe fig
is worth worlds
and worlds and worlds
beyond the green
of Eden.
Un morso
nel fico maturo
vale mondi
e mondi e mondi
al di là del verde
dell’Eden.
“Figs” by Erica Jong, from “Love Comes First.” © Penguin Group, 2009.
Certamente ci sarà qualcuno che troverà questa poesia blasfema, irriverente, immorale, specialmente nella chiusa finale allorquando l’autrice sembra ricalcare la famosa espressione “Parigi val bene una messa” con “l’Eden val bene una fica”. Lo fece Adamo, continuano a farlo gli uomini, da sempre. Ma proprio qui si scopre l’abilità poetica della Jong, nell’affermare la concretezza veramente terragna, terrestre e terrena della disobbedienza umana nei confronti del divieto divino: la sfida che i due, Adamo ed Eva, lanciano al loro Creatore scegliendo quel “frutto” tipicamente dell’estate che avrebbe dato loro la possibilità di eguagliarlo. Solo mangiando di quel “frutto” essi avrebbero potuto illudersi di creare la vita, così come lo stesso Creatore aveva fatto con loro. Una intuizione poetica che sembra scavalcare la teologia usando la poesia. Qui al link potete ascoltare Erica Jong parlare di questo libro e del significato che lei dà alla poesia.
P. S. Avrei potuto corredare questo post con opportune immagini facilmente riportabili ai luoghi ed agli strumenti di cui sin dai tempi dell’Eden l’uomo fa uso per esprimere il suo bisogno d’amore e di vita. Non lo faccio perchè credo che non ce ne sia bisogno. Tutti i lettori sanno bene come si “fanno” queste cose per cogliere il bene di questo magnifico frutto estivo.
March 25, 2009
Erica Jong is among my favorite poets. This new volume of poetry, her first in a decade, didn't disappoint.
April 28, 2009
Jong takes many simplistic "loves" and turns them into poetry (who would've thought to write a poem about risotto?). My favorite is "Sleep."
June 9, 2009
If I never read another poem about a Greek god, the holocaust, or Homer again...
Erica Jong, you suck and your poems suck.
Erica Jong, you suck and your poems suck.
July 28, 2009
This is a book of poetry, and I enjoyed her honest, lyrical style.
November 20, 2009
Her best poetry book.
July 26, 2011
I love this collection of poems. I have read this so many times and it's so artfully clever. Very eloquent. My favorite is the section tributing the greek mythology Aphodite's Laughter.
February 22, 2013
really enjoyed this collection of poetry
Read
February 18, 2015This didn't do anything for me. I'm so dry right now.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews