Quiet genius all around

In this community, around every corner, there's an original talent doing amazing work.

In early spring, my energy was lagging for both the novel sequel I was writing and a museum exhibit I am helping organize. So I took on a freelance assignment for the local paper about the film noir series at the MV Film Center.

The film series is one of my favorite ways to pass those short, gray days and long, dark nights of early spring. (And the complementary glass of pinot noir with a few squares of dark chocolate don’t hurt.)

This year's film noir series featured some British classics [photos courtesy of the MV Film Society, Paul Karasik]

The assignment involved calling up the curator of the annual series, Paul Karasik. After a 20-minute chat, just as we were signing off, he made an off-hand comment about his book “finally” getting published. By Random House. With a prepublication starred review in Publisher’s Weekly.

I said: Tell me more.

So we set a date for another interview to talk about his work as a cartoonist and his new graphic novelization of the Paul Auster classic The New York Trilogy. In the meantime, I took along an advance copy on my iPad on a 10-hour train ride. I never left my seat.

Delving into an unfamiliar art form

Ever since the Cape Cod Barnes & Noble dedicated a full wall to graphic novels, I’ve been cognizant of their popularity. But I’d never read one. I expected Karasik’s book to resemble the boiled-down stories found in the Reader’s Digest Condensed Books my mom always had around the house in the 1960s.

But The New York Trilogy graphic novel exploded my imagination. Especially the way Karasik and his co-illustrators dramatized Auster’s existentialist detective tales through their clever use of pen & ink panels.

Cover, illustration, from the new 'New York Trilogy' [courtesy of Penguin Random House)

When we met up in person to talk about the book, Karasik told me about his 30+ year journey from studying with cartoonist Art Spiegelman, to a chance meeting with Paul Auster (at a parent-teacher conference. Karasik was the teacher, Auster, the parent). Karasik told me, too, about his habit of always keeping a sketchbook handy and how that habit helped him be ready when the opportunity to adapt The New York Trilogy to graphic novel form came about years after that parent-teacher meeting.

After our talk, after I read large chunks of Karasik’s other books, I felt fully steeped in the wondrous art form of the graphic novel. (For the full Q&A with Karasik, check out the literary journal Vol. 1 Brooklyn.)

Quiet geniuses are all around

When I travel off-island and people ask where I’m from, I can tell from their reaction and their questions what they think a life on Martha’s Vineyard is like. Yes, I say, I’ve encountered a lot of celebrities. Actors, singers, poets, painters, you name it.

Sometimes I meet people who’ve visited before. Their questions often center on whether their favorite places are still around. (The Black Dog Tavern? Yes. Chilmark Chocolates? Sadly, no.) Or we’ll exchange opinions about favorite beaches, trails, places to catch the sunset. Because they know Martha’s Vineyard is packed full of natural wonders.

But live here a while, burrow in for a few winters, and you’ll see what Martha’s Vineyard is richest in: creative community.

And I find that nothing revives me, when feeling depleted and stagnant, like exploring an unfamiliar art form. Especially when there’s a resident expert willing to serve as guide.