A Disease of Language
Encyclopedia
A Disease of Language is the 2005 collection of adaptations by Eddie Campbell
of two of Alan Moore
's performances, The Birth Caul (1999) and Snakes and Ladders (2001). It is rounded by a 2002 interview of Moore conducted by Campbell for Egomania 2 and sketches. It is published by Palmano Bennett in association with Knockabout.
The birth caul
is a thin piece of placenta
sometimes present at birth covering the face like a veil. It is kept traditionally as a good luck charm. When Moore's mother dies he finds her birth caul amongst her effects. The Caul represents a map of humanity which Moore proceeds to read from. The text is essentially an examination of the connections between our language, our identity and our perceptions of the world. The narration regresses from early adulthood, adolescence, childhood, infancy and prenatal existence in a quest for a primitive consciousness existing before language. Ultimately the quest aborts as there are no words to describe that consciousness.
In 1998, after completing From Hell
, Campbell visited Moore and he played the CD recording to him. He asked Alan Moore if he could do a pictorial setting and he published it himself in 1999.
In 2003 an essay, "Unwrapping the Birth Caul", written by English teacher and comics reviewer Marc Singer, was published in Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman.
and Elizabeth Siddal
and with Arthur Machen
's visionary experiences.
The Eddie Campbell adaptation was published in 2001. The CD was released in 2003.
Eddie Campbell
Eddie Campbell is a Scottish comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Australia. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of From Hell , Campbell is also the creator of the semi-autobiographical Alec stories collected in Alec: The Years Have Pants, and Bacchus , a wry adventure...
of two of Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's performances, The Birth Caul (1999) and Snakes and Ladders (2001). It is rounded by a 2002 interview of Moore conducted by Campbell for Egomania 2 and sketches. It is published by Palmano Bennett in association with Knockabout.
The Birth Caul
In 1995 Alan Moore had recently "come out" as a practicing magician. He did a spoken word performance called The Birth Caul (A Shamanism of Childhood) with music by David J and Tim Perkins, which was soon released on CD. It was staged at the Old County Court in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 18 November 1995.The birth caul
Caul
A caul is a thin, filmy membrane, the amnion, that can cover a newborn's head and face immediately after birth.-Obstetrics:A child "born with the caul" has a portion of the amniotic sac or membrane remaining on the head. There are two types of cauls. The most common caul is adhered to the head...
is a thin piece of placenta
Placenta
The placenta is an organ that connects the developing fetus to the uterine wall to allow nutrient uptake, waste elimination, and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply. "True" placentas are a defining characteristic of eutherian or "placental" mammals, but are also found in some snakes and...
sometimes present at birth covering the face like a veil. It is kept traditionally as a good luck charm. When Moore's mother dies he finds her birth caul amongst her effects. The Caul represents a map of humanity which Moore proceeds to read from. The text is essentially an examination of the connections between our language, our identity and our perceptions of the world. The narration regresses from early adulthood, adolescence, childhood, infancy and prenatal existence in a quest for a primitive consciousness existing before language. Ultimately the quest aborts as there are no words to describe that consciousness.
In 1998, after completing From Hell
From Hell
From Hell is a comic book series by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published from 1991 to 1996, speculating upon the identity and motives of Jack the Ripper. The title is taken from the first words of the "From Hell" letter, which some authorities believe was an authentic...
, Campbell visited Moore and he played the CD recording to him. He asked Alan Moore if he could do a pictorial setting and he published it himself in 1999.
In 2003 an essay, "Unwrapping the Birth Caul", written by English teacher and comics reviewer Marc Singer, was published in Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman.
Snakes and Ladders
This was a performance given on the 10th of April 1999 at Conway Hall in Red Lion Square, with music by Tim Perkins. It deals with the disinterment of Oliver CromwellOliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and Elizabeth Siddal
Elizabeth Siddal
Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal was an English artists' model, poet and artist who was painted and drawn extensively by artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, including Walter Deverell, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and most of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's early paintings of women.-Early...
and with Arthur Machen
Arthur Machen
Arthur Machen was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His novella The Great God Pan has garnered a reputation as a classic of horror...
's visionary experiences.
The Eddie Campbell adaptation was published in 2001. The CD was released in 2003.
Publication
- A Disease of Language (adapted by Eddie CampbellEddie CampbellEddie Campbell is a Scottish comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Australia. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of From Hell , Campbell is also the creator of the semi-autobiographical Alec stories collected in Alec: The Years Have Pants, and Bacchus , a wry adventure...
, from "The Birth Caul" and "Snakes and Ladders" with interview from Egomania Magazine, Knockabout ComicsKnockabout ComicsKnockabout Comics is a UK publisher and distributor of underground and alternative comic books.-History:It was formed by Tony Bennett and Carol Bennett in the 1980s to distribute Gilbert Shelton's Freak Brothers titles as well as British work from creators such as Hunt Emerson and Bryan...
, hardcover, 160 pages, 2006, ISBN 0-86166-153-2) previously released as:- The Birth Caul (1999), Eddie Campbell Comics; performance art piece adapted for comics by Eddie CampbellEddie CampbellEddie Campbell is a Scottish comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Australia. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of From Hell , Campbell is also the creator of the semi-autobiographical Alec stories collected in Alec: The Years Have Pants, and Bacchus , a wry adventure...
- Snakes and Ladders (2001), Eddie Campbell Comics; performance art piece adapted for comics by Eddie Campbell
- The Birth Caul (1999), Eddie Campbell Comics; performance art piece adapted for comics by Eddie Campbell