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Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a well-received film adaptation of the same name. Frequently described as the "poet laureate of Cleveland,"〔"(The Original (Goodbye Splendor) )" by Anthony Bourdain, The Travel Channel, July 13, 2010〕〔"(Harvey Pekar Dies: Comic book writer was 'poet laureate of Cleveland' )" by Marc Tracy, Tablet, July 12, 2010〕 Pekar "helped change the appreciation for, and perceptions of, the graphic novel, the drawn memoir, the autobiographical comic narrative."〔"(HARVEY PEKAR: Remembering the man — and legacy — one year later )" by Michael Cavna, The Washington Post, 7/13/2011〕 Pekar described his work as "autobiography written as it's happening. The theme is about staying alive, getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried, but I can't."〔("Harvey Pekar" ) (obituary), ''The Daily Telegraph'', July 13, 2010〕 ==Life== Harvey Pekar and his younger brother Allen were born in Cleveland, Ohio to Saul and Dora Pekar, immigrants from Białystok, Poland. Saul Pekar was a Talmudic scholar who owned a grocery store on Kinsman Avenue, with the family living above the store.〔 While Pekar said he wasn't close to his parents due to their dissimilar backgrounds and because they worked all the time, he still "marveled at how devoted they were to each other. They had so much love and admiration for one another." As a child, Pekar's first language was Yiddish, and he learned to read and appreciate novels in the language.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Exclusive: A Smorgasbord of Art and Comics Celebrating Harvey Pekar’s Yiddishkeit | Heeb )〕 Pekar said that for the first few years of his life, he didn't have friends.〔''Cleveland'' by Harvey Pekar, illustrated by Joseph Remnant, Zip Comics and Top Shelf Productions, 2012, page 42.〕 The neighborhood he lived in had once been all white but became mostly black by the 1940s; as one of the only white kids still living there Pekar was often beaten up. He later believed this instilled in him "a profound sense of inferiority."〔"〕 However, this experience also taught him to eventually become a "respected street scrapper."〔 Harvey Pekar graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1957, then attended Case Western Reserve University, where he dropped out after a year.〔 He then served in the United States Navy, and after discharge returned to Cleveland where he worked odd jobs before being hired as file clerk at Cleveland's Veteran's Administration Hospital. He held this job even after becoming famous, refusing all promotions until he finally retired in 2001.〔〔 Pekar was married from 1960 to 1972 to his first wife, Karen Delaney. His second wife was Helen Lark Hall. Pekar's third wife was writer Joyce Brabner, with whom he collaborated on ''Our Cancer Year'', a graphic novel autobiography of his harrowing yet successful treatment for lymphoma. He lived in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with Brabner and their foster daughter Danielle. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harvey Pekar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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