June 2008

What It Is by Lynda Barry

It is a collage-style graphic novel. It is an encouraging and hopeful map to the center of your creativity. It is a fantastically honest chronicle of Lynda Barry’s artistic journey. It is my current favorite book about writing. That’s What It Is by Lynda Barry, a brand new book from Drawn & Quarterly!

Some background on this book: Lynda teaches a workshop called “Writing the Unthinkable” all over the country. I took the class last summer in Madison, Wisconsin and it was seriously the best $200 I ever spent on a writing workshop.

Over the course of two days, Lynda told hilarious stories about her creative troubles and triumphs, and shared a technique for generating free-flowing writing that she learned from a college professor, Marilyn Frasca.

At the heart of the Writing the Unthinkable course is the idea that your most authentic writing, or painting, or ANYTHING doesn’t come from forcefully thinking it up. Instead, it stems from tapping into images—strong memories and sensory impressions—that each of us carries inside. These images are the “pull toys that pull you,” as Lynda puts it. They have a life of their own, and when you play with them they play right back. When you follow where they lead, wonderful and unexpected work can result.

Principles from her Writing the Unthinkable course are the basis of her new book, interwoven with autobiographical cartoons painted in Chinese ink on yellow legal paper. The stories about her life were what touched me most; they had me nodding and laughing and shaking my head. Lynda says the unsayable and touches on the untouchable. She gives voice and visuals to things that have haunted me for years, but I could never quite put my finger on.

The back third of the book is a workbook that leads you through exercises from the WTU course. They are simple and they work and they prove that everyone has compelling stories to tell. If you can give yourself the gift of time to do these exercises, you will be amazed at what comes out of you, like I was.

If you aren't familiar with Lynda Barry’s work, go to the Marlys Magazine website. There's an excerpt of the new book and weekly comic strips that will make you laugh and cry at the same time. Long Live Lynda!