Is a picture worth 1000 words? In this generative course, we will explore ways for writers to develop a visual language all their own. We will delve into works of graphic narrative, essay, memoir, and humor (with a side-quest into the world of single-panel gag cartoons ala the New Yorker). Readings will include work from Lauren Weinstein, Laura Park, Lynda Barry, Ivan Brunetti, Chris Ware, Hyesu Lee, Liniers, Adrian Tomine, Los Bros Hernandez, and many more. Our aim will be to open up new dimensions in both our appreciation of graphic work and our own modes of expression. In class we will discuss assigned works and our responses to them, develop a practice of joyful, fearless connection with our own drawing (or at least make the whole thing a little less fraught), and create our own works. This seminar is meant for all levels of comfort with drawing, even if that level is nil.