Despite growing up with a grandfather named Dominic DiOrio and a full complement of Italian relatives, I never inherited the opera gene. And despite growing up with Superman and The Flash, I never inherited the graphic novel gene, either. However, I do confess to having huge respect for American Splendor and great affection for its author, and so I may be sitting in Oberlin this weekend watching Harvey Pekar’s newest venture – an opera.
Harvey is a regular at the library where I work, and as I’ve searched for reference books for him and printed out current reviews of his work, he and I have become friends. We chat about his up-coming projects, the state of the world, local events, his personal life. I’ve helped him photocopy his new graphic novel episodes (complete with stick figures) before they get sent to the publisher, and I relish the memory of the day he asked, “Is it ok if I put you in one of my stories?”. Yes, it was way more than very, very ok, and I appeared in the August ‘08 issue, which I then proudly showed off to anyone who would stand still long enough.
You might be wondering why I’m writing about Mr. Pekar and his musical extravaganza on a blog geared (mostly) towards fantasy – well, this blog is also about art in its many forms and dedicated to welcoming the strange (and the stranger). And Harvey is as strange as they come (and I’m using that as a compliment). How much stranger can you get than someone who started writing comic books about himself, comics not about a hero – or even an anti-hero – but just an everyday kind of guy doing an everyday kind of job? Someone who since then has appeared multiple times on television and radio, won numerous literary awards, had a movie made about his life, (winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, among other accolades) and now has written an opera?
From my personal contact with Harvey, I can also let you in on a secret. The man who is most commonly called a curmudgeon by his interviewers, who got a call from Oprah’s staff saying they heard he could “complain about anything”, was banned from the David Letterman show, and has titled his opera Leave Me Alone, is really a pussycat. But don’t let him know I told you.
Oh, and Harvey? In honor of all your work, the next time I see you the jelly donuts are on me.
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What a wonderful post. But I have a question — what did you write that you “may” be sitting in the audience?
I can’t be certain I’ll be in the audience, because we “may” have another snow storm this weekend. As much as I love Harvey’s work, I have to wait & see what the weather gods decide to do on Saturday. But Oberlin is making this available with live streaming – a lovely option for those with computers and little taste for bad climactic conditions.