ABSTRACT
Bob Flanagan is one such translator, a shaman for the twenty-first century. Bob died of cystic fibrosis at the age of 43 on 4 January 1996. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a hereditary disease that affects breathing and digestion; few victims live beyond their thirties. Bob attributed his longevity to his lifelong masochistic proclivities. His motto was: ‘Fight Sickness with Sickness’. He traced his masochism back to childhood, when he spent long hours bound in bed. From childhood forward, he was prodded and probed, X-rayed, transformed into a medical specimen. No part of his body was immune, in any sense of the word.
