The World Began with Yes: Poems
About this ebook
Life challenges us to celebrate even when our very existence is threatened. Never have we needed poetry more.
Poetry was #1 New York Times–bestselling novelist Erica Jong’s first love, and she never left it. In a dark time, she celebrates life—the title of this collection, The World Began with Yes, comes from the celebrated Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, who was deeply in love with life despite many tragedies.
Jong believes that the poet sees the world in a grain of sand and eternity in a wild flower—as Blake wrote. Her work has always stressed the importance of the lives of women, women’s creativity, and self-confidence, and this collection is an inspiration to readers, as well as the next generation of poets.
“Say ‘yes,’ to this collection and let the world begin.” —Kim Dower, author of Sunbathing on Tyrone Power’s Grave
About the author
Erica Jong is a celebrated poet, novelist & essayist with over twenty-five published books that have been influential all over the world. Her most popular novel, Fear of Flying, celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2013. Never out of print, it has sold over thirty-five million copies in forty-two languages including Chinese and Arabic. Erica’s latest novel, Fear of Dying,was published in 2015/2016 with many publishers all over the world. Her awards include the Fernanda Pivano Award for Literature in Italy (named for the critic who introduced Ernest Hemingway, Allen Ginsberg, and Erica Jong to the Italian public), the Sigmund Freud Award in Italy, the Deauville Literary Award in France, the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature, and Poetry Magazine’s Bess Hokin Prize (also won by Sylvia Plath and W.S. Merwin). Erica’s poetry has appeared in publications worldwide, including The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, The Paris Review, Haaretz, and many more. Erica lives in New York and Connecticut with her husband and two poodles.
