What It Is – Drawn & Quarterly

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Lynda Barry What It Is (Hardcover)

“Deliciously drawn (with fragments of collage worked into each page), insightful and bubbling with delight in the process of artistic creation. A+” –Salon How do objects summon memories? What do real images feel like? For decades, these types of questions have permeated the pages of Lynda Barry’s compositions, with words attracting pictures and conjuring places through a pen that first and foremost keeps on moving. What It Is demonstrates a tried-and-true creative method that is playful, powerful, and accessible to anyone with an inquisitive wish to write or to remember. Composed of completely new material, each page of Barry’s first Drawn & Quarterly book is a full-color collage that is not only a gentle guide to this process but an invigorating example of exactly what it is: “The ordinary is extraordinary.”

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$24.95

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What It Is (Hardcover) quantity Add to cart 45245 Other Formats AvailablePaperback PRAISESPECSEVENTSPRESSAWARDSPRAISE"The collages in legendary cartoonist Lynda Barry’s What It Is are a bathysphere-like odyssey through the depths of her funky subconscious." —Vanity Fair "What It Is is equal parts cartoon memoir, collage album, scrapbook, and Zen roadmap. Written and drawn in a chaotic but riveting style, it offers itself as a guide to creative self-ignition." —The Boston Globe "What It Is, Picture This: The Near-Sighted Monkey Book, and Syllabus— ... weave dense, brightly colored collage, narrative comics, and expressionistic drawing into philosophies of memory, pedagogy, and storytelling ... groundbreaking: Richly graphic, and moving, they invent a hybrid genre that generates from within the comics universe but totally transcends known categories." —Hillary Chute, Artforum "Reading Barry is an ecstatic experience, and her unique blend of extravagant cartoon and collage serves this memoir-cum-creativity-manual perfectly. This isn’t a craft handbook, but rather an inspirational text: each page will stir something in you, ask you questions about the nature of art and memory and imagination, and you’ll be running to your own work in no time." —Flavorwire What It Is is equal parts cartoon memoir, collage album, scrapbook, and Zen roadmap. Written and drawn in a chaotic but riveting style, it offers itself as a guide to creative self-ignition.

The Boston Globe

SPECSISBN : 9781897299357Binding : HardbackPages : 208Trim Size : 8.7 x 11.2Color : Full-Color Illustrations ThroughoutEVENTS PAST EVENT

Lynda Barry Talk at Butler University

Speaking engagement Thursday, March 1, 2018 to Thursday, March 1, 2018 07:30pm PAST EVENT

Lynda Barry solo exhibit in New York

Gallery Show Friday, September 8, 2017 to Saturday, October 28, 2017 11:00am PAST EVENT

Lynda Barry at the Moss Arts Center

Speaking engagement Friday, October 28, 2016 to Friday, October 28, 2016 07:30pm PAST EVENT

Writing the Unthinkable with Lynda Barry

PAST EVENT

WRITING THE UNTHINKABLE in Pittsburgh

Appearance PAST EVENT

Lynda Barry Summer 2008 events

Appearance Wednesday, June 4, 2008 12:00am PAST EVENT

D+Q at San Diego Comic-Con 2008

Festival PAST EVENT

Meet Lynda Barry in St Louis!

Appearance Monday, August 25, 2008 to Monday, August 25, 2008 07:00pm PRESS June 3, 2024

Lynda Barry in the Harvard Crimson

Lynda Barry’s “What It Is” is not just a creative scrapbook but an experience: full of thought-provoking questions... November 15, 2021

What It Is recommended by Austin Kleon

Christmas comes early: My December pick for our Read Like an Artist book club is Lynda Barry’s What It Is, one of m... August 6, 2021

What It Is named among 11 essential comics

What It Is by Lynda Barry When Lynda Barry was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2019, it came after nearly 40 years of ... September 29, 2020

Artnews reviews Lynda Barry’s What It Is

Lynda Barry combines visual art and writing in a way that few people have accomplished. Her books are not just comics b... February 7, 2019

Comicsverse Spotlights Lynda Barry

Gloriously wild, artist Lynda Barry’s alternative comics have inspired comic fans and creators since the 1970s. Indee... April 23, 2018

Study Breaks says everyone should read Lynda Barry

Lynda Barry, a cartoonist, teacher and writer, is most famous for her comic strip “Ernie Pook’s Comeek,” but has a... December 16, 2015

Flavorwire Lists What It Is in Best Books To Make You a Better Writer

You’ll never find a writing manual (or any book by anyone else) quite like Lynda Barry’s What It Is. Reading Barry ... April 10, 2015

‘Amazing’ What It Is on Unshelved

A meditation on drawing, creativity, memories, and writing by cartoonist Lynda Barry, created with comics, drawings, col... AWARDS

MacArthur Foundation Fellowship

for What It Is (Hardcover)

Eisner Award

Best Reality-Based Work for What It Is (Hardcover)

Eisner Award

Nominated for Best Painter for What It Is (Hardcover)

Eisner Award

Nominated for Best Publication Design for What It Is (Hardcover)

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