New and Improved LB post!
Edit: Good coincidence, I finally got around to writing a much longer
review of the writing class I took last February, and now you
can hear
Lynda talking about creativity on NPR June 2nd, 2008!!
Twenty years ago, I was visiting a former college roommate in Chicago, and she handed me this stack of clippings from The Reader, saying " this person talks about what it was like to be a kid the same way you talk about that." I didn't know I talked about that much, but I quickly became a fan of Lynda Barry's cartoon series called Ernie Pook's Comeek, which she still draws today. You might have seen her play "The Good Times Are Killing Me" produced locally during the 90s. You may have seen her For the past few years, Barry has been teaching an innovative writing class all over the country. Now that she and her husband live in southern Wisconsin, the Madison classes get a better deal on tuition than farther-away sessions, so when there is another local one, take it! You will be amused and inspired in ways that will surprise you!
Whether you consider yourself a writer or not, the two-day class, "Writing the Unthinkable" is a great way to spend a couple of weekend afternoons. Not wanting to ruin the spontaneity of the actual content of the writing exercises, I'll just say that if you pay attention, you'll never be bored and will probably find that process more than thought-provoking. For now, I'll just give you examples of some of the fun interstitial material in the class, because Lynda Barry is non-stop entertainment.
She suggests that you not go back and re-read any of your material until after the two day session is completely finished. Also no one can criticize any of your writing if you read out loud during class. She praises everyone's efforts, whether they read their work or not. And you don't have to discuss anything with the class, or read aloud if you don't want to. So it's a very relaxed environment.
She is still very adamant, as she was when she spoke at a downtown bookstore here a few years ago, that people not feel that writing and drawing and dancing "should be left to the professionals," since self-expression is essential to our enjoyment of life, and even our mental and physical health.
She has practical tips, such as squeezing a pen or something in your non-dominant hand which magically makes your writing hand relax. As well-versed as she is in what it is to be an artist, she is passionate about understanding the science of how the mind works, and regaled us with lots of tidbits about how brains work. She tells of a factory where workers or nearby residents suffered some kind of reaction to a chemical, and the common lifestyle habit of the people who did not suffer the reaction, was that they were all readers. She says that the old theory that your initial nervous system is all you've got for life, isn't really true and we now know that neurogenesis is possible, new pathways can be formed in your mental machinery, as long as you keep using it.
She suggests not trying to pound out your first drafts at the computer so that you can get-it-all-out-before-you-forget it. You'll remember everything more than once anyway. In fact, partly to slow herself down and partly because the process of handwriting connects your brain with your description of images in a crucial way, she has put together first drafts in which the words were painted with an ink brush. Lynda employs the technique of always keeping the pen moving, even when you can't think of anything you are supposed to write the alphabet or draw a apiral until you think of something else to write, to keep the connection between your mind and your brain going. When we were listening to other students reading allowed, ahe had us all drawing spirals, both to enhance the listening process and to avoid making the readers nervous by staring at them.
In Barry's favorite way of looking at the creative process, she makes the idea of "an image" central to what is created, and she is adamant that people do explore whatever images are central to their own lives. In addition to teaching you how to find the main images in your own memories, she keeps encouraging you to forget about the end result of any creative work you might produce, because that gets in the way of completing it. She conveys that people, including her, have to set aside their judgements to get anything done, and a favorite analogy she makes is that it's like she's "telling people they can have the ability to fly and be invisible," and tell a story about anything they want, for any reason, and they respond with
"I only want to do that if I can make a living at it and be famous." This kind of thinking may have, she says, influenced why her first novel took her ten days and the second novel took her ten years to finish. You'll learn a lot about her career, her personal life, and a myriad of other topics that will delight and intrigue you.
I had never been to that Quarry Arts building before. It's very nice. It's all yoga rooms and massage studios and offices of other new-age-woo-woo types of practitioners. And it is right across from Whole Foods so it was convenient to go to the pricy-but-delicious salad bar to end all salad bars on the lunch break each day.
On the first day of the February 2008 class, realizing most people who take the class are fans, Lynda asked what our favorites of the cartoon, novels, and plays are, and since she lives not too far from Madison, the next day she brought a truckload of original artwork and first drafts for us to look at before and after class. It's like the opposite of a reality show, in that she encourages the class all weekend long, and you come away with a lot of interesting writing.
You can enjoy some groovy current Lynda Barry content in:
her contribution to the book The Best of American Comics 2006, available through booksellers or your local library.
(watch for the 2008 Best of American Comics, as Lynda Barry is editing it)
To enroll for the Chicago August 23-24 email the class secretary,
Kelly Hogan, at fromthedeskofmarlys@yahoo.com
Check the Writing the Unthinkable Myspace to see a whole bunch of
neat stuff, including info about the
Chicago class in August! ,
and you can see the current Ernie Pook's Comeek episodes in the pics section.
If you want to read What It Is,
Get Lynda's new book locally!
If you don't have time to go comic book shopping, Hank will ship any order
for one flat rate! Worth it!
In other news, now that she has gotten not only burglarized,
but now a couple weeks ago, robbed in her parking lot,
Laurie is finally willing to move to a bettier place in a nicer neighborhood.
I'm very happy that she is doing that and so impressed by the
many hometown friends who have really stepped up to be supportive and helpful!
It has made this whole situation a lot easier.
And one very special non-hometown friend, in a faraway urban sprawl land,
sent wonderful words of encouragement. (I like-you-way-too-much too !-)
To everyone who responded, and those who might in the future,
I am amazed and grateful beyond words.
Thank you doesn't begin to cover it.
review of the writing class I took last February, and now you
can hear
Lynda talking about creativity on NPR June 2nd, 2008!!
Twenty years ago, I was visiting a former college roommate in Chicago, and she handed me this stack of clippings from The Reader, saying " this person talks about what it was like to be a kid the same way you talk about that." I didn't know I talked about that much, but I quickly became a fan of Lynda Barry's cartoon series called Ernie Pook's Comeek, which she still draws today. You might have seen her play "The Good Times Are Killing Me" produced locally during the 90s. You may have seen her For the past few years, Barry has been teaching an innovative writing class all over the country. Now that she and her husband live in southern Wisconsin, the Madison classes get a better deal on tuition than farther-away sessions, so when there is another local one, take it! You will be amused and inspired in ways that will surprise you!
Whether you consider yourself a writer or not, the two-day class, "Writing the Unthinkable" is a great way to spend a couple of weekend afternoons. Not wanting to ruin the spontaneity of the actual content of the writing exercises, I'll just say that if you pay attention, you'll never be bored and will probably find that process more than thought-provoking. For now, I'll just give you examples of some of the fun interstitial material in the class, because Lynda Barry is non-stop entertainment.
She suggests that you not go back and re-read any of your material until after the two day session is completely finished. Also no one can criticize any of your writing if you read out loud during class. She praises everyone's efforts, whether they read their work or not. And you don't have to discuss anything with the class, or read aloud if you don't want to. So it's a very relaxed environment.
She is still very adamant, as she was when she spoke at a downtown bookstore here a few years ago, that people not feel that writing and drawing and dancing "should be left to the professionals," since self-expression is essential to our enjoyment of life, and even our mental and physical health.
She has practical tips, such as squeezing a pen or something in your non-dominant hand which magically makes your writing hand relax. As well-versed as she is in what it is to be an artist, she is passionate about understanding the science of how the mind works, and regaled us with lots of tidbits about how brains work. She tells of a factory where workers or nearby residents suffered some kind of reaction to a chemical, and the common lifestyle habit of the people who did not suffer the reaction, was that they were all readers. She says that the old theory that your initial nervous system is all you've got for life, isn't really true and we now know that neurogenesis is possible, new pathways can be formed in your mental machinery, as long as you keep using it.
She suggests not trying to pound out your first drafts at the computer so that you can get-it-all-out-before-you-forget it. You'll remember everything more than once anyway. In fact, partly to slow herself down and partly because the process of handwriting connects your brain with your description of images in a crucial way, she has put together first drafts in which the words were painted with an ink brush. Lynda employs the technique of always keeping the pen moving, even when you can't think of anything you are supposed to write the alphabet or draw a apiral until you think of something else to write, to keep the connection between your mind and your brain going. When we were listening to other students reading allowed, ahe had us all drawing spirals, both to enhance the listening process and to avoid making the readers nervous by staring at them.
In Barry's favorite way of looking at the creative process, she makes the idea of "an image" central to what is created, and she is adamant that people do explore whatever images are central to their own lives. In addition to teaching you how to find the main images in your own memories, she keeps encouraging you to forget about the end result of any creative work you might produce, because that gets in the way of completing it. She conveys that people, including her, have to set aside their judgements to get anything done, and a favorite analogy she makes is that it's like she's "telling people they can have the ability to fly and be invisible," and tell a story about anything they want, for any reason, and they respond with
"I only want to do that if I can make a living at it and be famous." This kind of thinking may have, she says, influenced why her first novel took her ten days and the second novel took her ten years to finish. You'll learn a lot about her career, her personal life, and a myriad of other topics that will delight and intrigue you.
I had never been to that Quarry Arts building before. It's very nice. It's all yoga rooms and massage studios and offices of other new-age-woo-woo types of practitioners. And it is right across from Whole Foods so it was convenient to go to the pricy-but-delicious salad bar to end all salad bars on the lunch break each day.
On the first day of the February 2008 class, realizing most people who take the class are fans, Lynda asked what our favorites of the cartoon, novels, and plays are, and since she lives not too far from Madison, the next day she brought a truckload of original artwork and first drafts for us to look at before and after class. It's like the opposite of a reality show, in that she encourages the class all weekend long, and you come away with a lot of interesting writing.
You can enjoy some groovy current Lynda Barry content in:
her contribution to the book The Best of American Comics 2006, available through booksellers or your local library.
(watch for the 2008 Best of American Comics, as Lynda Barry is editing it)
To enroll for the Chicago August 23-24 email the class secretary,
Kelly Hogan, at fromthedeskofmarlys@yahoo.com
Check the Writing the Unthinkable Myspace to see a whole bunch of
neat stuff, including info about the
Chicago class in August! ,
and you can see the current Ernie Pook's Comeek episodes in the pics section.
If you want to read What It Is,
Get Lynda's new book locally!
If you don't have time to go comic book shopping, Hank will ship any order
for one flat rate! Worth it!
In other news, now that she has gotten not only burglarized,
but now a couple weeks ago, robbed in her parking lot,
Laurie is finally willing to move to a bettier place in a nicer neighborhood.
I'm very happy that she is doing that and so impressed by the
many hometown friends who have really stepped up to be supportive and helpful!
It has made this whole situation a lot easier.
And one very special non-hometown friend, in a faraway urban sprawl land,
sent wonderful words of encouragement. (I like-you-way-too-much too !-)
To everyone who responded, and those who might in the future,
I am amazed and grateful beyond words.
Thank you doesn't begin to cover it.