Cartoonist's talk spawns good humor

Political cartoons are intended to provoke laughter — but sometimes, they spark outrage.

That’s what editorial cartoonist and writer Doug Marlette said Friday, when he was in town for a Meet the Author Tea. The Pulitzer Prize-winner told the audience at the Chapel Hill Public Library that during his career, he’s become quite aware of the things that upset people.

“I’ve never believed in restricting myself,” he said. “I’ve always let other people restrict me.”

He cited an experience during his days at The Charlotte Observer, when then-U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., refused to talk to that paper’s reporter because he was offended by one of Marlette’s cartoons.

Marlette began creating political cartoons for The Charlotte Observer in 1972.

Since then, his work has appeared in national newspapers and publications such as Time and Newsweek magazines.

The library’s meeting room was packed, and several people had to stand and lean against the walls as they listened to Marlette talk about his favorite cartoons and life experiences.

“I’m amazed so many people showed up,” he said in an interview after his presentation.

The Greensboro native was raised in Laurel, Miss. He moved to Hillsborough in the 1990s, and he divides his time between North Carolina and New York.

He was a visiting professor at UNC in 2001.

Marlette said a cartoonist should be seen, not heard, as he flipped through slides of some of his memorable cartoons.

Though many might have already seen his images, some couldn’t help but laugh when they saw the cartoons again.

Marlette said he had always wanted to be a cartoonist, not a writer.

“I was attracted to the single image, not words,” he said.

Marlette also discussed his novel, “The Bridge,” about a cartoonist who moves to a small North Carolina town and discovers his roots — and the role his family played in the General Textile Strike of 1934.

Also known as “The Uprising of ’34,” the event swept Southern mill towns such as Hillsborough and Burlington.

A screenplay of “The Bridge” has been written by Mark Andrus, the co-writer of “As Good As It Gets.”

Marlette said that he loved the script — and Tom Cruise’s production company is behind the project.

When Marlette moved back to Hillsborough, he also uncovered his family’s ties to writing.

He learned that a great-uncle had published a pamphlet called “The Burlington Dynamite Plot,” about a plan to destroy a Burlington mill.

“I didn’t think anyone in my family could write,” he joked.

Marlette said he had to conquer his fears when he first submitted his work for publication.

“I remembered when I started I worried all the time,” he said.

But eventually, Marlette said, he learned how to overcome that.

“I learned to like a blank piece of paper,” he said. “I learned to like the challenge (of finding an idea).”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.