Cooper Street Workshop: Image & Word – Writing Graphic Narratives (Virtual)

About the Workshop

In her book Calamities, Renee Gladman writes: “‘Thus, drawing is writing,’ was how I wanted the quote to go on. And to write was to think; to make lines was to draw; and lines were the essence of writing.” Gladman describes the moment where boundaries between one form of making (writing) and another (drawing) begin to blur. Similarly, in this workshop, we will engage with the possibilities that exist between the two art forms. We will look at writers who incorporate illustrations, collage, photography, graphs, and other images into their work, including Eduardo Galeano, Kurt Vonnegut, Lina Maria Ferreira Cabeza-Venegas, Anne Carson, Renee Gladman, Julie Delporte, and Ander Monson, among others. We will create our own graphic narratives using a variety of methods, including free writing, collage, comic panels, and found imagery. Writers will leave the workshop with an expanded sense of graphic narrative possibilities, new techniques, and several pages of new writing. Makers of all levels are welcome!

COST: $80 General, $15 Camden residents & Rutgers-Camden students

This is a virtual workshop held over Zoom.

About the Instructor

Natasha Soto is a writer and artist born and raised in New York City and currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She received her MFA in Creative Writing at Rutgers University-Camden and is studying illustration at the Leith School of Art. Her words and images have been featured in Rejoinder Journal, La Galería Magazine, and Siren Magazine, and exhibited at XXXI Gallery and Ellis Island. She writes a weekly newsletter called Magical Meanderings about nature, creativity, and magic.