Neil Gaiman's wonderful blog pointed to me to this phenomenal Alan Moore article. Some choice quotes:
"The first step into magic is the human imagination. The world of the mind and the world of matter are both real, but in different ways. In fact, if one is more important than the other, it's probably the world of the imagination, where the world of human artefacts, well, all of it, actually originates. The basic paradigm of science tends to rule out consciousness, imagination, because they're not repeatable in empirical laboratory conditions. So it struck me that perhaps through magic there might be a different way to interact with the mind. This might in fact have been what magicians were talking about all along."
"I thought that...I ought to concentrate upon a couple of square blocks of Northampton, where I actually grew up...I suppose it's a gradual realisation that the actual place where I'm sitting is about the most fantastic spot in my universe."
"People have asked me why I made the first chapter of my first novel so long, and in an invented English. The only answer I can come up with that satisfies me is, to keep out the scum."
I didn't know alan moore did those (comics:From Hell, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,Swamp Thing)
i didn't even realize i was a fan...
Posted by: Tasha | October 12, 2007 at 04:13 PM
Oh yes! He is essentially the godfather of graphic novels. One of the real geniuses of our time.
Posted by: Pam | October 14, 2007 at 12:39 PM
My good friend Jay did an even longer interview with Alan about magic and related matters that you may not have seen:
http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=1815
Posted by: John C | October 26, 2007 at 12:16 AM
ooooh, thank you, John!
Posted by: Pam | October 26, 2007 at 10:53 AM