A library in B.C. is colouring outside the lines with its writer-in-residence program and showing people that literature can be more than words on a page.

Cartoonist Miriam Libicki is the Vancouver Public Library香蕉视频直播檚 writer-in-residence for 2017, marking the first time the library has named a graphic novelist to the role since the program began in 2005.

Comics have captivated Libicki since childhood, but she didn香蕉视频直播檛 think she could create them herself until after she left the Israeli army and went to art school in Vancouver.

There, Libicki struggled to explain the intense experience to others until she turned a diary entry into a comic.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 hard to, just through text descriptions, really immerse somebody,香蕉视频直播� Libicki said. 香蕉视频直播漃ictures, it香蕉视频直播檚 much more immediate to immerse somebody in an environment that香蕉视频直播檚 just in your head.香蕉视频直播�

The response to her work was positive, so the budding artist turned her army experiences into a graphic novel called 香蕉视频直播淛obnik!香蕉视频直播� which she self-published in 2008.

Libicki香蕉视频直播檚 work mixes intricate sketches and watercolour paintings, a marked difference from the simple images in comics like Superman. Her subjects, too, delve deeper than Archie and Veronica香蕉视频直播檚 latest tiff, reflecting instead on Jewish identity and examining relationships.

香蕉视频直播淚 write what I like to write and I paint what I like to paint,香蕉视频直播� she said of her style.

I also had this vision of blowfish inflating and rolling through space, but I'm not sure I got it. I may redraw.

香蕉视频直播� miriam libicki (@realgonegirl)

Vancouver香蕉视频直播檚 library isn香蕉视频直播檛 the first to turn to someone with a unique specialty as a writer-in-residence. The Edmonton Public Library picked rapper AOK 香蕉视频直播� writer Omar Mouallem 香蕉视频直播� for the role in 2013, while Concordia University chose graphic novelist Matthew Forsythe to be the 2017 Mordecai Richler writer-in-residence.

Picking someone from a non-traditional medium shows that stories can be created and shared in a variety of ways, said Dawn Ibey, director of library experience with the Vancouver Public Library.

Libraries have changed as societies have changed, she said, and many now offer an array of items and services, from ebooks to recording booths, and three-dimensional printers to musical instruments.

But some traditional aspects remain.

香蕉视频直播淭he end point is still the same,香蕉视频直播� Ibey said. 香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檙e still inviting people to be engaged, informed, to create and share information, ideas and stories.香蕉视频直播�

The Vancouver library is 香蕉视频直播渇ormat agnostic,香蕉视频直播� she added, and sees graphic novels as a way to engage a broader audience.

香蕉视频直播淎 graphic novel can have an entry point for kids or teens or adults from very diverse backgrounds, different learning styles, reluctant readers, anyone who a more traditional means or a piece written for a specific demographic or age group might not reach,香蕉视频直播� Ibey said.

Portrait I drew of from a photo but not traced, 1997. You know, I used to be pretty good at drawing.

香蕉视频直播� miriam libicki (@realgonegirl)

Graphic novels have gained prominence in recent years, including Art Spiegelman香蕉视频直播檚 香蕉视频直播淢aus,香蕉视频直播� which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, and 香蕉视频直播淭he Walking Dead,香蕉视频直播� which was adapted into a hit TV show.

Part of the reason the form is so popular is that it can be used in a variety of ways, Libicki said.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 a medium, not a genre,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚t just means words and pictures put together in any sort of way. Any sort of story can be told with it.香蕉视频直播�

That香蕉视频直播檚 a message she香蕉视频直播檚 looking forward to sharing as a writer-in-residence.

For the next four months, she will mentor other writers and work on her latest project, a graphic novel about what happened to people who fled the collapsing Soviet Union. Libicki said she香蕉视频直播檚 spent two years conducting interviews, researching and writing a script for the story.

She香蕉视频直播檒l also lead workshops for both children and adults on everything from water colour painting to conducting interviews.

香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 really excited about the idea that we can bring graphic novels to so many different populations, both as appreciation and reading them, and getting people making their own,香蕉视频直播� Libicki said.

香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檇 just really like to see more people cartooning.香蕉视频直播�

The Canadian Press

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