Ingrid Bengis
Encyclopedia
Ingrid Bengis, born in 1944 in New York
, is a writer best known for her pioneering collection of essays on love, hate and sexuality, Combat in the Erogenous Zone, (Knopf 1972). The book received was critical acclaim and was nominated for a National Book Award
. The New York Times Book Review
said, "It must be read and it must be taken seriously if human sexuality is ever going to live up to its notices" while Newsweek
called it "a remarkable book...that has probably moved both women and men on a deeper level than any other document of the new feminism
". It was reissued in 1990 after Martin Duberman, writing in The Village Voice asked, "Where is this astonishing writer? Why has she dropped from sight". The reissue by Harper Collins included a new introduction by Duberman, in which he wrote, "(Bengis) was only twenty eight when the book was published, but had lived so intensely and could describe her experiences so freshly...that her ruminations about love, hate and sex struck many of us who were older than she as astonishingly vivid and wise. Nearly twenty years later, they still do." Among the most frequently cited quotes from the book are "Imagination has always had powers of resurrection that no science can match" and "For me, words are a form of action, capable of influencing change", quoted by Barack Obama in one of his 2008 campaign speeches.
In 2003, Farrar Strauss & Giroux, North Point Press published Bengis' book Metro Stop Dostoyevsky: Travels in Russian Time which takes place in Russia
between 1990-1996 . Naively in love with Russia and Russian literature
, she settled in St. Petersburg in 1990 as the Soviet Union
was collapsing, and quickly became immersed in "catastroika", a period of immense turmoil that mirrored her own increasingly complex and contradictory experience. Her friendship with a Russian woman whose marriage is also falling apart, reflects the social tumult, as well as the sometimes dangerous consequences, of American good intentions. It was hailed by Kurt Vonnegut
as "the most sane and intelligent book anyone could possibly write about what it is like to be an American or a Russian at the start of the new millennium," and Norman Mailer
said "There is so much to praise about Metro Stop Dostoyevsky that I will content myself with but one remark. I read it all in something approaching whole pleasure, and how often can we make such a claim?"
She is also the author of a novel, I Have Come here to be Alone, Simon and Schuster, 1977 and a contributor to many magazines and journals. Her work has been translated into six languages, most recently Russian, where her essay Home: Variations on a Theme appeared in the highly respected literary magazine Zvezda
. She usually lives in Stonington
, Maine, but also teaches twentieth century American literature at the University of St. Petersburg, in St. Petersburg, Russia (where Alexander Pushkin and Vladimir Putin
both studied), is married to a Russian ballet dancer and has one daughter and one stepson.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, is a writer best known for her pioneering collection of essays on love, hate and sexuality, Combat in the Erogenous Zone, (Knopf 1972). The book received was critical acclaim and was nominated for a National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
. The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
said, "It must be read and it must be taken seriously if human sexuality is ever going to live up to its notices" while Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
called it "a remarkable book...that has probably moved both women and men on a deeper level than any other document of the new feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
". It was reissued in 1990 after Martin Duberman, writing in The Village Voice asked, "Where is this astonishing writer? Why has she dropped from sight". The reissue by Harper Collins included a new introduction by Duberman, in which he wrote, "(Bengis) was only twenty eight when the book was published, but had lived so intensely and could describe her experiences so freshly...that her ruminations about love, hate and sex struck many of us who were older than she as astonishingly vivid and wise. Nearly twenty years later, they still do." Among the most frequently cited quotes from the book are "Imagination has always had powers of resurrection that no science can match" and "For me, words are a form of action, capable of influencing change", quoted by Barack Obama in one of his 2008 campaign speeches.
In 2003, Farrar Strauss & Giroux, North Point Press published Bengis' book Metro Stop Dostoyevsky: Travels in Russian Time which takes place in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
between 1990-1996 . Naively in love with Russia and Russian literature
Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...
, she settled in St. Petersburg in 1990 as the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was collapsing, and quickly became immersed in "catastroika", a period of immense turmoil that mirrored her own increasingly complex and contradictory experience. Her friendship with a Russian woman whose marriage is also falling apart, reflects the social tumult, as well as the sometimes dangerous consequences, of American good intentions. It was hailed by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
as "the most sane and intelligent book anyone could possibly write about what it is like to be an American or a Russian at the start of the new millennium," and Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
said "There is so much to praise about Metro Stop Dostoyevsky that I will content myself with but one remark. I read it all in something approaching whole pleasure, and how often can we make such a claim?"
She is also the author of a novel, I Have Come here to be Alone, Simon and Schuster, 1977 and a contributor to many magazines and journals. Her work has been translated into six languages, most recently Russian, where her essay Home: Variations on a Theme appeared in the highly respected literary magazine Zvezda
Zvezda (magazine)
Zvezda is a Russian literary magazine published in Saint Petersburg since 1924. It began as a bimonthly, but has been monthly since 1927.- History :The first issue of Zvezda appeared in January 1924, with Ivan Maisky as editor-in-chief...
. She usually lives in Stonington
Stonington, Maine
Stonington is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States, located on the southern portion of Deer Island. The population was 1,152 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of Oceanville and West Stonington...
, Maine, but also teaches twentieth century American literature at the University of St. Petersburg, in St. Petersburg, Russia (where Alexander Pushkin and Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
both studied), is married to a Russian ballet dancer and has one daughter and one stepson.
External links
- Brief notice by publisher about Metro Stop Dostoevsky
- BBC News UK has a short article about Bengis and St. Petersburg