Writing exercises and creativity advice from Barry's pioneering,
life-changing workshop
The award-winning author Lynda Barry is the creative force behind the
genre-defying and bestselling work What It Is. She believes that
anyone can be a writer and has set out to prove it. For the past decade,
Barry has run a highly popular writing workshop for nonwriters called
Writing the Unthinkable, which was featured in The New York Times
Magazine. Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor is the first
book to make her innovative lesson plans and writing exercises available
to the public for home or classroom use. Barry teaches a method of
writing that focuses on the relationship between the hand, the brain,
and spontaneous images, both written and visual. It has been embraced by
people across North America--prison inmates, postal workers, university
students, high-school teachers, and hairdressers--for opening pathways
to creativity.
Syllabus takes the course plan for Barry's workshop and runs wild with
it in her densely detailed signature style. Collaged texts,
ballpoint-pen doodles, and watercolor washes adorn Syllabus's yellow
lined pages, which offer advice on finding a creative voice and using
memories to inspire the writing process. Throughout it all, Barry's
voice (as an author and as a teacher-mentor) rings clear, inspiring, and
honest.
