Happy birthday, Mr Moore

[shewhomust]

I don't have anything coherent to say about A.S. Byatt. I have a vague affection for her, because I always enjoyed hearing this very literary grande dame praising Terry Pratchett. I enjoyed some of her books, struggled with others.

Instead, since today is the 70th birthday of Alan Moore, I thought it would be a pleasure to write about someone who is still alive. Admittedly, he has turned away from those of his works which have given me such pleasure over the years, but they have given me very great pleasure ...

And I've never written here about The Birth Caul... In fact, what have I written here? And why have I never tagged the relevant entries?

So instead of writing anything new, what I have been doing is tagging all my previous entries about Alan Moore. Not so much a birthday tribute as a meta-tribute. Oh, well.

Comments

[lamentables]

I knew I would listen to Alan Moore read or speak about anything at all, but I didn't know about The Birth Caul until he read it aloud to a spellbound audience in Northampton, 7 or 8 years ago. After that I trawled the internet for a copy it. I think I found one. I definitely found treasure.

[shewhomust]

I'd forgotten that you had posted about some spoken word events you'd been to - we were at the original 1995 performance in Newcastle.

[lamentables]

How extremely cool for you!
I'm currently recovering from an emergency appendicectomy and am a bit short of energy, but when I'm up to speed I shall explore your Alan Moore link and also refresh my memory on all the Moore files that fell off the back of the internet and onto my hard drive.

[athenais]

I really liked POSSESSION and I liked a lot of THE DJINN IN THE NIGHTINGALE'S EYE, but after that my interest dropped off rapidly. I didn't know until her obituary that she had praised Pratchett. Deservedly!

On the other hand, Alan Moore has largely passed me by. I have only read "V for Vendetta," which I collected it while it was being published but have not read since, and his issues of "Swamp Thing."

[shewhomust]

I struggled with The Virgin in the Garden, but liked Possession very much. I can't talk sensibly about The Vhidren's Book: I have a really problem with that sort of thinly fictionalised stuff... Haven't read The Djinn....

As for Alan Moore, you've read enough to judge for yourself whether you want more!