Martin Lemelman (born October 26, 1950) is an American freelance illustrator and graphic

memoirist A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) ...

Early life and education

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City, where he grew up in an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

home, and attended a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

. At age 13, he decided he wanted to be an artist. His training in art began after entering

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

, where he received undergraduate and

Masters of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admin ...

degrees. Since 1976 he has been a freelance illustrator.

Career

Lemelman has illustrated over 30 children's books and his work has been published in magazines ranging from

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

Sesame Street Magazine ''Sesame Street Magazine'' is an American monthly magazine based on the children's television series ''Sesame Street''. The magazine features characters from the television series, and emphasizes ''Sesame Street''s educational goals. The intend ...

. He is the author of two graphic memoirs. The child of

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

, in 1989 he began to videotape his mother, Gusta, as she opened up about her 1930s Polish childhood and her eventual escape from Nazi persecution. His original idea was to save his mother's memories for his children. Prodded by a 2000 visit to

Hermakivka Hermakivka () is a village in Ivane-Puste rural hromada, Chortkiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine. History The first written mention dates from 1641. After the liquidation of the Borshchiv Raion Borshchiv Raion (), historically known as , was ...

, Gusta's town in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, he realized he had to tell her story. He returned to it in 2003, and it evolved into the 2006 graphic memoir, ''Mendel's Daughter'', that has been called a unique contributor to Holocaust literature. He used a multimedia approach, using photos and documents, so that the reader would understand that what happened to Gusta happened to real people. Through this approach, Lemelman has Gusta inform the reader about her life and the people in it, as well as her emotional investment in what is pictured. In 2013

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

listed ''Mendel's Daughter'' as one of the ten greatest graphic novels ever written. In ''Two Cents Plain: My Brooklyn Childhood'' he continued the family saga. Raised in the back of a candy store in Brownsville in the 50s and 60s, as the neighborhood changed, he tells the story of his childhood in the form of a graphic memoir. ''Two Cents Plain'' won the 2010 New York City Book Award for memoir. Lemelman is emeritus professor of

communication design Communication design is a mixed discipline between design and information-development concerned with how media communicate with people. A communication design approach is concerned with developing the message and aesthetics in media. It also crea ...

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (Kutztown University or KU) is a public university in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher ...

. In 1985 he designed five postage stamps for

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

promoting the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

Personal

Lemelman lives in

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

. He is married with four sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemelman, Martin American graphic novelists Jewish American artists Jewish American children's writers Jewish American novelists People from Brownsville, Brooklyn Living people 1950 births Kutztown University of Pennsylvania faculty Brooklyn College alumni Communication scholars American children's book illustrators Jewish American academics 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists Memoirists from New York (state)