Questions from Lynda Barry

I picked up Lynda Barry's delightful "What It is" book at the library yesterday and read the first half this morning. Evan and I got up at 6 am and it was invigorating to be gently woken up to Barry's many questions and musings. I haven't read a book that mostly asks questions before and I'm intrigued. Here are some of the ideas that caught my eye:
  • "I believe [images] are the soul's immune system and transit system."
  • How much of what we see/notice is what we expect?
  • "Memory: an image which travels through time."
  • "We don't create a fantasy world to escape reality, we create it to be able to stay."
  • "What makes something a chore?"
  • "Sometimes we are not in the mood to play. Why?"
  • "What are toys? Outfits for inner space creatures."
  • "What is the difference between being awake and asleep?"
  • "What is a mood?"
    "Can you have thoughts without language?"
  • "Is imagination a time and a place?"
"It’s kooky, no doubt, but Barry’s classroom at the University of Wisconsin is not a creative writing workshop for career storytellers. It’s a place where science PhDs and business undergraduates learn how to write and draw. Her approach to unlocking creativity in the non-artists is informed by her punk rock and DIY beginnings: she believes in a culture of simply making stuff." - excerpt from this guardian article

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