I have a very sensitive nose. I identify with dogs. I understand the world through my nose. Erica Jong More Quotes by Erica Jong More Quotes From Erica Jong A concern with 'public morality' is - if not the last refuge of a scoundrel - the first foray of the fascist. Erica Jong moralitylastsfirsts the only people worth writing about are those about whom the last word cannot be said. Erica Jong lastswritingpeople The Passion that one Soul hath for God cannot be judged by another. Erica Jong passionsoulbelief beware the Lure of a handsome Face, the all too ready Assumption that the lovely Façade must needs have lovely Chambers within; for as 'tis with Great Houses, so, too, with Great Men. Erica Jong housebeautymen the unconscious of an artist is her greatest treasure. It is what transmutes the dross of autobiography into the gold of myth. Erica Jong greatest-treasureartistgold perfectionism is the enemy of art. Since art is essentially divine play, not dogged work, it often happens that as one becomes more professionally driven one also becomes less capriciously playful. Erica Jong perfectionplayart Turning fifty ... is like flying: hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Erica Jong boredomflyingfifty The perfect man is the true partner. Not a bed partner nor a fun partner, but a man who will shoulder burdens equally with you and possess that quality of joy. Erica Jong perfectfunmen It is the artists who make the true value of the world, though at times they may have to starve to do it. They are like earthworms, turning up the soil so things can grow, eating dirt so that the rest of us may eat green shoots. Erica Jong dirtgreenartist The older we get, the more Jewish we become in my family. Erica Jong my-family As yet we use our media only for selling things - including, of course, political candidates. What will happen when someone masters the art of selling souls? Erica Jong selling-thingsmediaart Nothing you write is ever lost to you. At some other level your mind is working on it. Erica Jong levelsmindwriting Flesh is merely a lesson. We learn it & pass on. Erica Jong lessonsbodyflesh You must have a certain amount of maturity to be a poet. Seldom do sixteen-year-olds know themselves well enough. Erica Jong sixteenmaturityyears You don't get to choose what you get famous for and you don't get to control which of your life's many struggles gets to stand for you. Erica Jong strugglefame I believe I belong to the last literary generation, the last generation, that is, for whom books are a religion. Erica Jong lastsbelievebook A dreary censorship, and self-censorship, has been imposed on books by the centralization of the book industry. Erica Jong censorshipselfbook The bruise on the heart which at first feels incredibly tender to the slightest touch eventually turns all the shades of the rainbow and stops aching. We forget about it. We even forget we have hearts until the next time. And then we wonder how we ever could have forgotten. We think this one is better, because, in fact, we cannot fully remember the time before. Erica Jong rainbowheartthinking All authors know that any book is a casting of runes, a reading of cards, a map of the palm and heart. We make up the ocean - then fall in. But we also write the life raft. Erica Jong readingbookfall Before things are written down they don't exist in quite the same way. The act of fixing them in words gives them a kind of currency that can be traded. Erica Jong fixinggivingway
