The Tattooed Poets Project: Debbie Kirk

I always like to finish up the Tattooed Poets Project on a strong note, so today's tattooed poet, the last of this year's series, is the heavily-tattooed poet Debbie Kirk.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2iMVepEiUgf97fTWvLiOe0v_hEHh7u8IwF0n63rEk404FqiKy57FKEQnpXuwUroP84iaIsQQyW4YidCNIksA3BxGd7eLvSkQwbSUnT-H9LqsP8SewcB03eWOxWZBL9hjSn6hytYNwQI/s1600/Debbie+Kirk+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2iMVepEiUgf97fTWvLiOe0v_hEHh7u8IwF0n63rEk404FqiKy57FKEQnpXuwUroP84iaIsQQyW4YidCNIksA3BxGd7eLvSkQwbSUnT-H9LqsP8SewcB03eWOxWZBL9hjSn6hytYNwQI/s400/Debbie+Kirk+photo.jpg" width="341" /></a></div><br />It also happens to be Debbie's birthday today, as we check out one of her tattoos. More specifically, let's look at the top of her left arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXm0sPDzk-iYtapEtKHRKalfz78pzWxnW7_CJzM_EstTBnzK1WlmVC3yIul94unkpf5k41qwUcwZaxwmzwCHCKUWKL66VA-pO31doqhnhwRL9QcgEdVfawOVffQM6eOGD6kLJABtcTyOQ/s1600/better+elders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXm0sPDzk-iYtapEtKHRKalfz78pzWxnW7_CJzM_EstTBnzK1WlmVC3yIul94unkpf5k41qwUcwZaxwmzwCHCKUWKL66VA-pO31doqhnhwRL9QcgEdVfawOVffQM6eOGD6kLJABtcTyOQ/s400/better+elders.jpg" width="235" /></a></div><br />This piece, complete with straight razor, brass knuckles and cherry bomb, bears a banner that proclaims "Bow to your elders, you Emo Fucks."<br /><br />I mean, what more can I say about <u>that</u>? <br /><br />In discussing which tattoo of Debbie's to use, this exchange took place:<br /><br />Tattoosday: "I hesitate to use the emo one because of the language and because I'm sure people will not understand why you would get it, but that makes me want to use it more".<br /><br />Debbie: "its a favorite with peeps...it has been declared the sexiest tattoo ever..."<br /><br />Tattoosday: "I love tattoos but they are generally so benign nowadays, so it's nice to see one with a true fuck-all attitude."<br /><br />Debbie: "Yeah, that defines me what you said right there....and why I got the tattoo. I think that single tattoo is the most ME. I can be a bit honest...which is why people like my poetry."<br /><br />Where'd she get the tattoo? Debbie recalls " I just remember I got it in Venice 5 years ago from a girl who proposed to me when I told her my idea...I still tell that story. I KNEW it was good with that reaction and she was hot."<br />  <br />Debbie gave us several poems to choose from, and the one we selected, she says, is very representative of her work:<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <br /><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Little Frankenstein girl</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">  </div><div class="MsoNormal">Little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">has the hands of a pianist</div><div class="MsoNormal">And the heart of a broken organ</div><div class="MsoNormal">With thorns, glass</div><div class="MsoNormal">Bats and Indian ink </div><div class="MsoNormal">Seeping thro…</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sewn together</div><div class="MsoNormal">Crookedly stitched </div><div class="MsoNormal">Like a pastel valentine heart</div><div class="MsoNormal">Filled with mismatched parts</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">Has the right brain of a killer</div><div class="MsoNormal">Her right hand is dominant</div><div class="MsoNormal">While her left foot always faces away</div><div class="MsoNormal">Wanting to disconnect</div><div class="MsoNormal">To run</div><div class="MsoNormal">To be free</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">To not be part of this </div><div class="MsoNormal">Fucked up experiment</div><div class="MsoNormal">Dreamt up by </div><div class="MsoNormal">A genius dressed in rags</div><div class="MsoNormal">And chased by demons</div><div class="MsoNormal">The kind that really scratch and bite</div><div class="MsoNormal">When you are fast asleep</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">Is not a little girl anymore</div><div class="MsoNormal">The curls in her hair</div><div class="MsoNormal">Dreaded up in the sun</div><div class="MsoNormal">Medusa in the wind</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Her loud strong voice</div><div class="MsoNormal">Muffled under the stitches</div><div class="MsoNormal">That firmly binds her lips together</div><div class="MsoNormal">Bondage bringing pleasure</div><div class="MsoNormal">Only to those who wish </div><div class="MsoNormal">To keep her silent</div><div class="MsoNormal">(and they are many)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">Can’t count the stitches on her wrists</div><div class="MsoNormal">From all of those nights</div><div class="MsoNormal">With her right hand doing </div><div class="MsoNormal">What her left foot </div><div class="MsoNormal">Wanted to walk away from</div><div class="MsoNormal">And her not understanding</div><div class="MsoNormal">That she was never really alive</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the first place</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">All mixed up </div><div class="MsoNormal">And</div><div class="MsoNormal">Mix matched</div><div class="MsoNormal">Returning every evening</div><div class="MsoNormal">With fresh wounds to be sewn</div><div class="MsoNormal">From another vain attempt</div><div class="MsoNormal">To be mortal for just a few seconds</div><div class="MsoNormal">Before the fall</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Little Frankenstein girl</div><div class="MsoNormal">Stolen parts</div><div class="MsoNormal">Come with stolen lies</div><div class="MsoNormal">Maggots and flies.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The gravedigger, looking to make a buck</div><div class="MsoNormal">Steals her a kiss</div><div class="MsoNormal">The moistness quenches her lips</div><div class="MsoNormal">He promises more kisses tomorrow</div><div class="MsoNormal">She scurries home</div><div class="MsoNormal">Knowing full well</div><div class="MsoNormal">She’s damned to a life of stolen kisses</div><div class="MsoNormal">And malfunctioning hearts</div><div class="MsoNormal">that spit in the moonlight.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"> </div><div><a href="http://tntkirk.com/">Debbie Kirk</a> has published 6 chapbooks and been in 12 anthologies and hundreds of print and online zines. She lives in Santa Cruz with her dog Dr. Gonzo.  She has a website she rarely updates at <a href="http://tntkirk.com/" target="_blank">tntkirk.com</a> but she can be best located lurking around Facebook!  Also check out <a href="http://tntkirk.com/">http://tntkirk.com/</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks to Debbie for sharing her tattoo and poetry with us here as we close out the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday. Also, we wish her a very happy birthday today!</div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div></div><span><span><a href="http://dope.tntkirk.com/" target="_blank"></a></span></span>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Debbie Kirk

I always like to finish up the Tattooed Poets Project on a strong note, so today's tattooed poet, the last of this year's series, is the heavily-tattooed poet Debbie Kirk.It also happens to be Debbie's birthday today, as we check out one of her tattoos. More specifically, let's look at the top of he…

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The Tattooed Poets Project: Lizzie Wann

Here, on the penultimate day of the Tattooed Poets Project, our contributor is Lizzie Wann:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBy1NXzy2yu1Qt4HfFIs_EsCPwQxjwYNCtpN26FdVgEFX8FilcPJzHRoIgdPgPfF20wpbHc6tlJl3RLP8uj_wxqRMMDO9fS_XwvGkf0yCqKCmM3JQ5RKDcSFlGg5RXGIYPKzlx_9786c/s1600/wann1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBy1NXzy2yu1Qt4HfFIs_EsCPwQxjwYNCtpN26FdVgEFX8FilcPJzHRoIgdPgPfF20wpbHc6tlJl3RLP8uj_wxqRMMDO9fS_XwvGkf0yCqKCmM3JQ5RKDcSFlGg5RXGIYPKzlx_9786c/s400/wann1.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><br />Lizzie explains:<br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">As I came into my poetic self in college, I knew I wanted a tattoo to symbolize that. My friend, Kevin, designed it for me and I carried it with me for a while. For spring break in 1993 or 1994, I went to Seattle with 4 of my best friends at the time. We happened into a cool tattoo shop and 4 of us got our first tattoos (the 5^th person didn’t want one).It was great because we each got something that symbolized who we were at the moment but also who we hoped to be in the future.</div></blockquote>Here's a closer look at this quill and ink bottle tattoo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDvuAY9NIT9ag3MjXKDXo9tS8_HJdsyvOImXGyuTsKEQY2bGMpA6FCuaU1Vrv87v_TOnVFAJ9mK1liFycp0IZ-bXc2w-V0zMctghiF3xjwFFkcWuquq_jlfjURvbga_3ER95t80L4Lbg/s1600/wann2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDvuAY9NIT9ag3MjXKDXo9tS8_HJdsyvOImXGyuTsKEQY2bGMpA6FCuaU1Vrv87v_TOnVFAJ9mK1liFycp0IZ-bXc2w-V0zMctghiF3xjwFFkcWuquq_jlfjURvbga_3ER95t80L4Lbg/s320/wann2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Lizzie shared this poem, as well: <br /><br /><blockquote><b>Grace</b></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">she lives here with me</div><div class="MsoNormal">but she comes & goes as she pleases</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">never tells me where she’s going</div><div class="MsoNormal">never leaves a note</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">it’s typical that she’ll come in</div><div class="MsoNormal">just as I’m falling asleep</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I catch glimpses of her sometimes</div><div class="MsoNormal">usually when there’s music </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">we used to be inseparable</div><div class="MsoNormal">I didn’t think she’d ever leave</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">now, daily happenings of my life</div><div class="MsoNormal">rarely interest her</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">but sometimes they do</div><div class="MsoNormal">and she’ll spend time with me</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">when that happens</div><div class="MsoNormal">I remember how good it feels</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">her company is like an avalanche of </div><div class="MsoNormal">warm towels out of the dryer</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I could stay there all day</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><i>© 2010 Lizzie Wann</i></blockquote><br />Lizzie Wann started reading at open mics in 1995. She soon became an integral part of the development of the San Diego poetry scene, facilitating workshops at the Writing Center, creating her own readings and producing original shows that featured poets and musicians. She earned a spot on the 1999 Laguna Beach national slam team that competed at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago of that year, and from there, helped make slam poetry become a San Diego fixture. She was on the 2000 San Diego team that went to the West Coast Regionals in Big Sur, served as coach for that same team in 2002, and co-hosted the fledgling San Diego slam, held at the Urban Grind, until 2003. Her work appears on CDs (<i>A Wing & A Prayer </i>and <i>A New Leaf</i>), in chapbooks including <i>Familiars, Naked Wrists, </i>and <i>Complicated Skies </i>and in anthologies including <i>Comstock Review</i>, <i>Incidental Buildings & Accidental Beauty</i>, <i>A Year in Ink, volume 2, So Luminous the Wildflowers, The San Diego Poetry Annual</i><i>, and Don’t Blame the Ugly Mug. </i> She also founded the Meeting Grace house concert series which ran from 2000-2008. One of her CD’s can be found at <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lizziewann" target="_blank">http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/<wbr></wbr>lizziewann</a>. <br /><br />Thanks to Lizzie for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Lizzie Wann

Here, on the penultimate day of the Tattooed Poets Project, our contributor is Lizzie Wann:Lizzie explains:As I came into my poetic self in college, I knew I wanted a tattoo to symbolize that. My friend, Kevin, designed it for me and I carried it with me for a while. For spring break in 1993 or 1…

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The Tattooed Poets Project: Gerry LaFemina

Today's tattooed poet is Gerry LaFemina. Gerry put together a narrative about his ink, which makes my job easier, and gives us a detailed view of his tattoos. Let's see what he has to say:<br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtK7Sg3NyFvMj4E_h-noZJ7n5k7xUOj7YM4Rh2L1x_DkNHVZp0wD5jYgfFWLRT4t_9gEa4tvHd7Bojrlc80n-n_mO93rxvxQB3iymxRD77eoJ-Bgl0xFdG6PivLajfJlRt74R5GysQiQ/s1600/tattoo+one+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtK7Sg3NyFvMj4E_h-noZJ7n5k7xUOj7YM4Rh2L1x_DkNHVZp0wD5jYgfFWLRT4t_9gEa4tvHd7Bojrlc80n-n_mO93rxvxQB3iymxRD77eoJ-Bgl0xFdG6PivLajfJlRt74R5GysQiQ/s320/tattoo+one+cropped.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://joygainesfriedler.com/default.aspx">Joy Gaines-Friedler</a></td></tr></tbody></table>"My first tattoo–I was 19, I was a punk rock kid, and I had been thinking about getting a tattoo for some time.  I had had a dream in which I had a tattoo of a skull and crossbones design in which the skull had peace symbols for eyes.  When I was shaving the next morning, I was surprised I didn’t have the tattoo.  So I called up my friend Melody, whose uncle was Tattoo Ray–one of the best tattooists on Staten Island.  She made the appointment and came with me to her uncle’s house.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            In New York at the time (the mid 1980's), tattooing was still illegal: most tattoo artists worked out of their homes and their clientele was through word of mouth.  Ray was pretty famous–and I have met a number of people over the years on Staten island who had work done by Ray. He was funny, sarcastic, and quick-tongued.  I remember asking him about his needles (this was in the midst of the AIDS epidemic) after all and he asked me right back “How clean is your blood?”</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">             I liked him immediately.  He did the work.  His niece and I talked.  I just remember being surprised how much the tattoo gun sounded like a dentist drill.  The little whine, the humming buzz.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            My second tattoo: I got my senior year in college.  We found somebody in Westchester who did the work in his suburban neighborhood house.  I remember little of the experience.  The tattoo was not the one I wanted: what I had hoped to get – Tigger with a microphone and a mohawk jumping on his tail – I ended up not being able to afford.  Instead: I went with symmetry – and more pirate stuff: a rose with crossed swords above the left bicep.  In hindsight, this tattoo has held up better than Tigger probably would have....</div></blockquote><blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qDzqfy_MTLulVStshImiZ5xbFK8gfV8tNsAzr53f3xQLxoIHIQL0zW93566RdXPyfaMbQT9Bsl3rnIKq-MEPOO1Ogx3GP4k7ZaOoD7rSvlGUdLGPkfcXYz-byF95NK1HJXdXtQytAX4/s1600/lafemina+and+tattoo+2+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qDzqfy_MTLulVStshImiZ5xbFK8gfV8tNsAzr53f3xQLxoIHIQL0zW93566RdXPyfaMbQT9Bsl3rnIKq-MEPOO1Ogx3GP4k7ZaOoD7rSvlGUdLGPkfcXYz-byF95NK1HJXdXtQytAX4/s400/lafemina+and+tattoo+2+cropped.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://joygainesfriedler.com/default.aspx">Joy Gaines-Friedler</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            What lasts though are the tattoos I wanted to get but didn’t: After the rose I wanted to get Charlie Chaplin tattooed on me.  I asked several artist friends of mine to make me a design, and I got a few of them, but none of them “worked.”  And for several years I wanted the logo for my old band tattooed somewhere.  But neither happened.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>            So I went with two for a long time: but I often thought about getting new ink.  I wrote.  I taught.  I created a program for young writers in northern Michigan called the Controlled Burn Seminar for Young Writers.  I committed 13 years to that project, and after the tenth seminar, I thought I would get its logo – a lit cherry bomb – tattooed on my right forearm.  The logo was important to me: I believe poetry and all art should be a lit cherry bomb.  It should be a potential explosion.  But it should be fun, too.  I looked into it a few times, but I finally made the decision on a lark a few days after my birthday.  I was walking on Carson Street in Pittsburgh – tattoo parlor row.  I liked the name <a href="http://flyingmonkeytattooshop.com/">Flying Monkey Tattoo</a>.  So in I went.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-SFhhta9Z5f_ePGB6FJXjtDJ4TB_ji5ojFjx9FjbKmEitO222LiHaRuRMaEHCLWLQEGQpwyzYLjfcsUUxwTzv8YUfaxgNyujv2Yjdy5mUI85_yUoPvR6un4tWujTFi4KOfAXNj2zSRU/s1600/tattoo+three+2+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-SFhhta9Z5f_ePGB6FJXjtDJ4TB_ji5ojFjx9FjbKmEitO222LiHaRuRMaEHCLWLQEGQpwyzYLjfcsUUxwTzv8YUfaxgNyujv2Yjdy5mUI85_yUoPvR6un4tWujTFi4KOfAXNj2zSRU/s400/tattoo+three+2+cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://joygainesfriedler.com/default.aspx">Joy Gaines-Friedler</a></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote></div><br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            The tattooist was a kid, He could have been one of my students–he was finishing up his apprenticeship and mine was one of his first tattoos.  The seminar after the ink ended up being the last one.  It seemed fitting that the creative writing kids got to see it before the seminar ended.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">            And now I’m back to collecting designs: this time, though, I know who’s going to do the tattoos.  The next one will be a Buddha carrying a tattered pirate flag on my back.  These are the two strains of my life.  And I want the MG logo somewhere.  I’ve been driving an MGB for 15 years.  The tattoo is a commitment and the things I am committed too, the things that define me, that continue to define me I want inked on me.  I spend much of my life putting ink on paper.  I think it’s only fitting to have some ink on me, too."</div></blockquote>And now, for one of Gerry's poems:<br />  <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><b>Alphabet City</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">            Avenues A through D, Lower </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">East Side</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, NYC</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">After the ambulances left but</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">before the sun finally rose above Avenue</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">C, I walked toward Tompkins Square Park where the heroin </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">dependent rockers slept, addled on benches, while</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">ex-punks huddled in their leather jackets</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">for the morning was still damp. One of them called out,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gerry? </i>What was I to do when I saw her, recognized</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">her hesitant familiar eyes. How could I have</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">imagined things would turn out this way when I’d call out <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her </i>name —</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Joanna — those sleepless nights of high school &</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">kept a photo of her deep into college.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Longing has such a sense of history.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Morning was approaching in its colorful coat.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Not once those months of kissing her, had I wakened beside her, but</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">oh — I’d wanted to. She was thinner & glanced away when I nodded;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">pigeons surrounded her bench but would take off</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">quickly with the first sudden movement or when the next squad car</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">revealed itself in flashers & sirens.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">So what did I do? What could I do?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">The three five dollar bills folded in my pocket, what</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">use were they to me? I gave them to her, she who’d once been beautiful. How</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">victorious I’d felt that first time I kissed her.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">We didn’t look at each other, nor did we look askance. I thought of the little</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">xiphoid syringes she might load with that money. This was my sin.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Two young black kids with dreadlocks walked by singing</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zion</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">! Take me back to </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zion</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">! </i>& I knew I’d never be saved.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">– Gerry LaFemina</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193469522X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=193469522X%22%3EVanishing%20Horizon%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=193469522X&camp=217145&creative=399349%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vanishing Horizon</i></a>, 2011 Anhinga Press<br /><br /></div>Gerry LaFemina is the author of seven books of poems, most recently <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193469522X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=193469522X%22%3EVanishing%20Horizon%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=193469522X&camp=217145&creative=399349%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E">Vanishing Horizon</a> (2011, <a href="http://www.anhinga.org/books/book_info.cfm?title=Vanishing%20Horizon">Anhinga Press</a>) and a collection of short stories.  He directs the <a href="http://www.frostburg.edu/cwcenter/">Frostburg Center for Creative Writing</a> at Frostburg State University where he also teaches.  He splits his time between Maryland and New York City.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=193469522X" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><br />Thanks to Gerry for sharing his tattoos and poetry with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Gerry LaFemina

Today's tattooed poet is Gerry LaFemina. Gerry put together a narrative about his ink, which makes my job easier, and gives us a detailed view of his tattoos. Let's see what he has to say:Photo by Joy Gaines-Friedler"My first tattoo–I was 19, I was a punk rock kid, and I had been thinking about gett…

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The Tattooed Poets Project: David Jonathan Newman

Today's tattooed poet is <a href="http://captainselfdestruct.blogspot.com/">David Jonathan Newman</a>, who sent along this photo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-khHRhiXMQFcVLXlLthoPj0MUycc-T7xfnLCKEeecnkCjUpl9wFsxP8WrcWrYnMrC8jCaVEbdlcWMcnCMBO4vNegMFhdtLwy73oLp0D1rPpVCrhNXCO-VEXkK3Hp7HcbYsK4pkULjUH4/s1600/bitter+end+rotate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-khHRhiXMQFcVLXlLthoPj0MUycc-T7xfnLCKEeecnkCjUpl9wFsxP8WrcWrYnMrC8jCaVEbdlcWMcnCMBO4vNegMFhdtLwy73oLp0D1rPpVCrhNXCO-VEXkK3Hp7HcbYsK4pkULjUH4/s640/bitter+end+rotate.jpg" width="346" /></a></div><br />Dave explains:<br /><blockquote>"The tattoo is fairly literal; the state of Florida is burning, with the words "Til The Bitter End" aside it.  I moved to Miami for 4 years to pursue a relationship, and saw it out to its unfortunate conclusion.  The tattoo is born out of that experience, and I got it to help me put a finishing stamp on what happened there and what brought me back to Long Island.  None of us are perfect, but we can become stronger people if we have reminders of our mistakes and put them to good use to make sure they don't happen again.  This piece, along with most of the work on my body, was done by <a href="http://www.koutsistattoo.com/">Chris Koutsis</a> of <a href="http://www.davincitattoo.com/">Da Vinci Tattoo Studio</a> in Wantagh NY.  I told him exactly what I had in mind, and between my ideas and his talents I was very happy with the outcome." </blockquote>The following is my favorite of the several poems David sent me to choose from:<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: small;">hello, atmosphere.</span></b><br /><br />I keep the eyes of a rapist in a jar by my bed<br />walk lightly<br />for that part of the room is glass<br />modern-day sorcerer, am I<br />blueprints and otherworldly photographs in my drawers<br />beakers and tubes filled with dust<br />the cold makes it feel like home<br />and when the mirror talks to me, it only says<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I will wrap you in a sheet before this night is done."</span><br />well so says you, my sweet, but look what you've become<br />all my furniture, ghosts<br />rooms rife with other lives<br />no doors<br />my paintings are stolen from churches and are hanging backwards and are numbered one to infinity. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> ~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>David Jonathan Newman has been a poet and vocalist/lyricist in bands, both on Long Island, NY and in Miami, FL.  He currently is working on a collection of poetry, writes music as a solo artist and has a blog (<a href="http://captainselfdestruct.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://captainselfdestruct.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a>) where he posts both his solid works and stream of consciousness ideas.  He's been winning poetry contests since 6th grade, and the poem above, "Hello, Atmosphere" won a writing contest at the <a href="http://www.oldwestbury.edu/">SUNY College Of Old Westbury</a> which was featured in <i>Harmonia</i>, their on-campus writing publication.<br /><br />Thanks to David for sharing his tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: David Jonathan Newman

Today's tattooed poet is David Jonathan Newman, who sent along this photo:Dave explains:"The tattoo is fairly literal; the state of Florida is burning, with the words "Til The Bitter End" aside it.  I moved to Miami for 4 years to pursue a relationship, and saw it out to its unfortunate conclusion…

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The Tattooed Poets Project: Kimberly Mahler

Today's tattooed poet is Kimberly Mahler, who sent along this tattoo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIyRO-okbJrie6UmQMSducpWKOdV-F-m6lu8j2L6E49TqkIUFC9EsEcdcurCdAgD8bzb_8eV0jyKt5e69JOgij6d4nbhjOeDh681KA150goLjezZ35LcwDxHDyzynEiOSoSbxJlkqIHM/s1600/Half+Moon+Bay+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIyRO-okbJrie6UmQMSducpWKOdV-F-m6lu8j2L6E49TqkIUFC9EsEcdcurCdAgD8bzb_8eV0jyKt5e69JOgij6d4nbhjOeDh681KA150goLjezZ35LcwDxHDyzynEiOSoSbxJlkqIHM/s640/Half+Moon+Bay+detail.jpg" width="412" /></a></div><br />Kimberly credits this bright colorful work to artist Erik Rieth, co-owner of <a href="http://www.seventhsontattoo.com/">Seventh Son Tattoo</a> in San Francisco. The poem below is an unpublished work she is including in a manuscript centered around her raising her 11-year old autistic son, seen in this photo with the tattoo above.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOacS3k30I8vq0r5Q6z6Gx7qFCANxtbcxh7XgzEmdKUpXaMXW_kdmEw7Mx-3cnfgp1_G_0DsgXIIvDEDviywLPUpEPvKnXc237uQPTxJxbuciMSTnjXI7WEGxtJcBPE1gIJNWgjkrdwEs/s1600/0119002031a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOacS3k30I8vq0r5Q6z6Gx7qFCANxtbcxh7XgzEmdKUpXaMXW_kdmEw7Mx-3cnfgp1_G_0DsgXIIvDEDviywLPUpEPvKnXc237uQPTxJxbuciMSTnjXI7WEGxtJcBPE1gIJNWgjkrdwEs/s320/0119002031a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Kimberly included a small photo of the piece in question, as well:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeO6ibXmhlRt7IeVTBgjCYuM6ClsLt4Za6soFh-tm2B0GEr5V-pxV9YmgI8YeqiLwfyjpWM_vjqrMn3K9xMo9_Zmq-wrFAE0K5AOrMAEyvsqe8fyWwWDQma0-ajI3dWab-OaEckGUXmQ/s1600/s696392736_1255451_9824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeO6ibXmhlRt7IeVTBgjCYuM6ClsLt4Za6soFh-tm2B0GEr5V-pxV9YmgI8YeqiLwfyjpWM_vjqrMn3K9xMo9_Zmq-wrFAE0K5AOrMAEyvsqe8fyWwWDQma0-ajI3dWab-OaEckGUXmQ/s1600/s696392736_1255451_9824.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">She elaborates:<br /><br /><blockquote><div>"The iris was my first tattoo completed in 2007. It was a one session--four hour odyssey of sorts. I had never seen someone get tattooed, and was pondering why Erik was using so much red ink for a purple flower... yep, that was my blood, not ink. Over the years Erik and I developed a friendship and continued work on my shoulder in 2008 and the cherries February 2011. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbJfllj8t0k7nvc932D2zJ32M7tWvnX55kLrJVZc5xUw0zzi-LytR6KbEjninDLqi5i4zuGxd5pG0ZLkHd434Q1GMt4wAICijj7mnk5o_SqtCWpZp5IciKx8w4pTOOF5ecp92K-sYKMY/s1600/Erik+working+on+Kim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbJfllj8t0k7nvc932D2zJ32M7tWvnX55kLrJVZc5xUw0zzi-LytR6KbEjninDLqi5i4zuGxd5pG0ZLkHd434Q1GMt4wAICijj7mnk5o_SqtCWpZp5IciKx8w4pTOOF5ecp92K-sYKMY/s320/Erik+working+on+Kim.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRwJI3fLag4iC5xO7-Am_ZYQ7_rOTmU9nTxNmW0WvL3rf_mk6K-kVl2ahBDZq0w60C3vGkk8b-zn_XElAWrr8v9WP9K8HDGmQmefB1VF2yAcQtKLNq9c0OQQ7FEVs1wPG1B7Oo0NwXII/s1600/Kim%2527s+cherries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRwJI3fLag4iC5xO7-Am_ZYQ7_rOTmU9nTxNmW0WvL3rf_mk6K-kVl2ahBDZq0w60C3vGkk8b-zn_XElAWrr8v9WP9K8HDGmQmefB1VF2yAcQtKLNq9c0OQQ7FEVs1wPG1B7Oo0NwXII/s320/Kim%2527s+cherries.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I know the next one is going to be a large hip/thigh sea dragon piece, but that's a ways off. </div><div><br /></div><div>For me to be ready to get a tattoo, three elements have to be in line: my artist Erik has to want and like the idea, I have to be ready (both financially and emotionally) and the time commitment and passion for the design have to be there. When all are in line, it's a magical sort of experience. I give him ideas, he designs the piece and then we get down to work. I couldn't have anyone else do my work now; it just wouldn't be the same. [...] He co-owns a shop in San Francisco that just did a benefit for Japan, raising $7,000. Cool place. <a href="http://www.seventhsontattoo.com/" target="_blank">http://www.seventhsontattoo.<wbr></wbr>com</a>. Erik and the shop Seven Son Tattoo are both also on Facebook. </div><div><br /></div><div>There's definitely a connection between tattooing and writing for me. This is the only poem that I've written that is about tattooing (at least on the surface). However, both writing and getting a tattoo require a leap of sorts: a stepping off of the known. Both require a loss of control which lay the foundation for original art both on the body and the page." </div></blockquote><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kimberly Mahler’s recent work has appeared in, <i><a href="http://www.5ampoetry.com/">5AM</a>,</i> <a href="http://www.dmqreview.com/"><i>DMQ</i> <i>Review</i></a>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604861096/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1604861096%22%3EMy%20Baby%20Rides%20the%20Short%20Bus:%20The%20Unabashedly%20Human%20Experience%20of%20Raising%20Kids%20with%20Disabilities%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=1604861096&camp=217145&creative=399349%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E"><i>My Baby Rides the Short Bus</i></a> anthology, <a href="http://naugatuckriverreview.wordpress.com/"><i>Naugatuck River Review</i></a>, <a href="http://internationalpsychoanalysis.net/2009/12/09/poetry-monday-kimberly-mahler/#more-9052"><i>The International Psychoanalysis Poetry Monday</i></a> and<i> <a href="http://cimarronreview.okstate.edu/">Cimarron Review</a>. </i> She recently received a residency at the <a href="http://www.ragdale.org/">Ragdale Foundation</a> in Chicago. Kimberly has taught college-level writing and literature in the San Francisco Bay Area for 17 years and is the director of <a href="http://www.iplsf.org%20/">The International Poetry Library of San Francisco</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> She lives on the coast, a few miles north Half Moon Bay, CA with her son Harrison.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />Thanks to Kimberly for sharing her tattoos, poetry and photos with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div></div></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Kimberly Mahler

Today's tattooed poet is Kimberly Mahler, who sent along this tattoo:Kimberly credits this bright colorful work to artist Erik Rieth, co-owner of Seventh Son Tattoo in San Francisco. The poem below is an unpublished work she is including in a manuscript centered around her raising her 11-year old au…

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The Tattooed Poets Project: Claire Nelson

Well, dear readers, I've been waiting to post this next tattoo for over a year, ever since <a href="http://www.doriannelaux.com/">Dorianne Laux</a> posted it on her Facebook wall last April and directed me to it. This amazing tattoo belongs to Claire Nelson. Behold:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BU4K5rofBJIntIe3EhDkCjtdUDrxrBqWFxb3NCu33S9MfPf9g5NyX9ZGAIKrO9TIKR11xIs249ervyf1xq4OCtFpY5qUPbwGizkeXzdTy6m311vNFOJKGoSa_FEGU7XzkcRktUs7hmU/s1600/typewriter+artist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BU4K5rofBJIntIe3EhDkCjtdUDrxrBqWFxb3NCu33S9MfPf9g5NyX9ZGAIKrO9TIKR11xIs249ervyf1xq4OCtFpY5qUPbwGizkeXzdTy6m311vNFOJKGoSa_FEGU7XzkcRktUs7hmU/s640/typewriter+artist.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><br />This photo was taken shortly after the tattoo was done by artist <a href="http://laughinghyena.wordpress.com/">Ron Henry Wells</a>, who graciously allowed me to copy it from his site and reprint it here. He noted that he "used a antique typewriter that [he owns] as reference". He was also swift to point out that the picture's not that great, as the curve of Claire's thigh makes the tattoo look a little warped, but he swears it is straight. I would beg to differ, as the photo really captures the beauty of the tattoo and the wonderful artifice of the tattooist.<br /><br />Claire sent me a newer photo for a slightly different perspective:<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span data-jsid="text"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPD1Pmxow7uyv3_ydWTFyPSJHnnGtg3GpF1VP7nSd7viveR8QVLaN7-dKKe4DPfX3_XfPCe0oD5RwxIza-vfbTfyPmvSpJeJZCQKCQabKJr2hTEZV4Ep1A0VTivBcik_ziJkqK2w4qXY/s1600/typewriter+poet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPD1Pmxow7uyv3_ydWTFyPSJHnnGtg3GpF1VP7nSd7viveR8QVLaN7-dKKe4DPfX3_XfPCe0oD5RwxIza-vfbTfyPmvSpJeJZCQKCQabKJr2hTEZV4Ep1A0VTivBcik_ziJkqK2w4qXY/s400/typewriter+poet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Claire explains this incredible tattoo:<br /><blockquote>"I love writing, tattoos and typewriters. When I met with <a href="http://laughinghyena.wordpress.com/">Ron</a> at <a href="http://www.anonymoustattoo.com/">Anonymous Tattoo</a> in Savannah, Georgia, he seemed as psyched about doing my tattoo as I was about getting it. Ron asked a few simple questions. “How do you feel about birds?” I felt good. “Flowers?” I also had positive feelings about flowers. And then, we were off. Two sessions and some intense pain later, I came out with this amazing tattoo. Writing will always be part of my life, and now so will this tattoo."</blockquote>Claire also shared this poem: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><strong>Kazoo Serenade</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br />The last nice thing you said to me</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Your breath smells<br />like vodka,” </i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">as I hummed at you</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">through a kazoo. <br />It was an</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">original composition;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">maybe not</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">technically</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> perfect—</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I wasn’t concerned </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">with mechanics.<br />Who needs rules</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">when there are kazoos in the world? <br /><br />I did an accompanying jig</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">on a cracked patch</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">of sidewalk.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Why is cement </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">always damp<br />on summer nights? It made such a </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">satisfying smack </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">against my bare-feet,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">cool and wet,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">like the familiar kiss</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">of a person I rarely see.<br /><br />I could have danced circles around you</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">all night </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">until we were both too dizzy to know</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">melody from moment,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">beauty from spit and plastic. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead, I unbuttoned <br />the pocket</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">on your shirt, and slipped the kazoo inside.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I don’t need retrospect</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">to tell me</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">you don’t deserve </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">a kazoo serenade. Oh I wish</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">it was about deserve</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">and not desire. </span></div></blockquote></div><div class="MsoNormal">~ ~ ~</div><div class="MsoNormal">Claire Nelson is a senior Dramatic Writing major at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. After graduation Claire will be moving to Tallahassee to pursue her M.F.A. in poetry at Florida State University. </div><br /><br />As for Ron, he is currently working out of the Boston area, but occasionally is a guest artist at <a href="http://www.threekingstattoo.com/site/">Three Kings Tattoo</a> in Brooklyn.<br /><br />Thanks to Claire for sharing one of the best tattoos we have seen in this year's Tattooed Poets Project, and for sharing her poetry as well, here on Tattoosday.<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Claire Nelson

Well, dear readers, I've been waiting to post this next tattoo for over a year, ever since Dorianne Laux posted it on her Facebook wall last April and directed me to it. This amazing tattoo belongs to Claire Nelson. Behold:This photo was taken shortly after the tattoo was done by artist Ron Henry We…

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The Tattooed Poets Project: Tantra-zawadi

Today, as we enter our final week of this year's Tattooed Poets Project, we are honored to have <a href="http://www.tantra-zawadi.com/">Tantra-zawadi</a> as our tattooed poet.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiWUVw9oYPkOlilY1H9c2CwpSYA89TLlzba6-z0oayaYkorpe74tWpHr0-JbZcHQsJJs90JZZKxu-s4aVtcvJbQ_6ipW8xFRAOgb3SVMBavXaXT8MXPvaxIyyZWKW7WCiXnXWzMlz__2Y/s1600/28417_411014407680_566212680_4569382_540113_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiWUVw9oYPkOlilY1H9c2CwpSYA89TLlzba6-z0oayaYkorpe74tWpHr0-JbZcHQsJJs90JZZKxu-s4aVtcvJbQ_6ipW8xFRAOgb3SVMBavXaXT8MXPvaxIyyZWKW7WCiXnXWzMlz__2Y/s400/28417_411014407680_566212680_4569382_540113_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Arnold Browne</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Tantra shared the tattoo visible on her right arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKNtNdpFVF17MtyUMYFDnXXIOF8b2nk-KiYNcNG0Em2SGjV6QEZcmI4JU5_id_3i_fl14WwMYgQy4NtAAD3dw0zLWpIeHvyFpirnyvloTfcXJDHapU7mdSpwknMpSutk57j6sl9e1Dvzs/s1600/tantra+swan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKNtNdpFVF17MtyUMYFDnXXIOF8b2nk-KiYNcNG0Em2SGjV6QEZcmI4JU5_id_3i_fl14WwMYgQy4NtAAD3dw0zLWpIeHvyFpirnyvloTfcXJDHapU7mdSpwknMpSutk57j6sl9e1Dvzs/s400/tantra+swan.jpg" width="355" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal">This tattoo was done by Louis of <a href="http://www.thirdeyetattoo.com/">Third Eye Tattoo</a> in Brooklyn. Tantra explains:</div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Swans usually mate for life…</i>Passion is a given in my work and how I love...The inspiration to become a part of something or someone for the duration of the journey is deeply beautiful.  Breathing through the ripples, the illusions, the wounds, the truth, the laughter, the healing and the magic of letting love…Sharing life IS the adventure! My poetry, like the mating of swans has been a part of my consciousness since I was a girl child.  It has grown with me and in me; writing candid love notes on my heart to the groove of house music in my soul!  I am life poetry."</div></blockquote><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Tantra also shared this tattoo:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0L_50BLMseqgP_xCNUaAwDzRBWXPGWcFtqGn0dT8V0giHTBa3PCtTw3RLi4zuV-ip_bLscIEE3uM1DIcU6rO2lx6__hpN9zVvoAS9VHRLEiMbcxIx74DnxRzs2VFjmH_xC15eRqoRJX0/s1600/tantratat1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0L_50BLMseqgP_xCNUaAwDzRBWXPGWcFtqGn0dT8V0giHTBa3PCtTw3RLi4zuV-ip_bLscIEE3uM1DIcU6rO2lx6__hpN9zVvoAS9VHRLEiMbcxIx74DnxRzs2VFjmH_xC15eRqoRJX0/s400/tantratat1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Arnold Browne</td></tr></tbody></table><br />On her left shoulder is the line "We make love in the way of the spirit," from her poem "Third Eye Kisses" (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984184465/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0984184465%22%3EGathered%20at%20Her%20Sky:%20Life%20Poems%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=0984184465&camp=217145&creative=399349%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E">Gathered at Her Sky</a> - <a href="http://poetswearprada.blogspot.com/">Poets Wear Prada</a> Publishing 2010).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Tantra shared this poem with us:<br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Poem for </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Haiti</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Toe nails painted <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">red</span></b><br />Fingernails and<br />Lips thus stained</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />I look at her cleanly<br />Parted scalp <br />Plaited locks of wisdom </div><div class="MsoNormal">With lavender ribbons</div><div class="MsoNormal">Gathered at her sky</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Vibrant energy skirted and</div><div class="MsoNormal">Pleated from waist to ankle</div><div class="MsoNormal">With her hands delicately</div><div class="MsoNormal">Placed upon her chest</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">One on top of the other <br />Motionless</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i>She was gentle <br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(I think) </i>Most likely<br />Waiting for her groom<br />for she was a good girl<br />before she was swallowed<br /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal">They lay in piles<br />the brown people tinged gray<br />and I wonder<br />if the one with the chocolate hand<br />was her beloved</div><div class="MsoNormal">Respectfully waiting for his bride<br /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div><div class="MsoNormal">He dreamed of her too<br />(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I think)<br />b</i>efore he was swallowed</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Butthereweresomany</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Thereweresomany</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Thereweresomany</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Fairies, maidens<br />Princes, poison apples<br />and ogres in the agony of<br />Hushed lullabies and wailing<br />Absent walls or petitions</div><div class="MsoNormal">Only tears of freedom</div><div class="MsoNormal">Gushing in perfect French <br />pooling into mud cakes and spirits<br />that rise from their dust</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Excerpt from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984184465/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0984184465%22%3EGathered%20at%20Her%20Sky:%20Life%20Poems%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=0984184465&camp=217145&creative=399349%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E">Gathered at Her Sky</a> - <a href="http://poetswearprada.blogspot.com/">Poets Wear Prada</a> Publishing 2010</i></div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~ </div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tantra-zawadi best describes her work "by the love that I make through my art to the vision of the unseen reality."  Soulful and sublime, her poetry explores love in all its forms; from the rush of the first kiss to the bittersweet.  Born in Brooklyn, New York, as a performance poet and published author, Tantra uses her voice to support the rights of women to exist, think and create through art.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tantra has performed to standing-room audiences at venues as far away as South Africa, London, Germany and Toronto as well as venues closer to home in the tri-state area.  She has performed original works in the off-Broadway productions of <a href="http://blackartinamerica.com/video/girl-a-choreospective">Girl – A Choreospective</a>, A Night of Three God/desses: Soldier Blues and Powerful Women, An Evolution in Reinvention, the Numeral Three, Leaving My Apartment and Other Urban Adventures and projects with the <a href="http://www.myspace.com/vonduvoisdancecollective">vonduvoisdancecollective</a>. Tantra's recent appearances include the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa">New York Public Library of Performance Arts at Lincoln Center</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badilisha_Poetry_X-Change">Badilisha Poetry X-Change Festival</a> in Cape Town, South Africa and the <a href="http://www.meetup.com/poetry-517/">Montserrat Poetry Festival</a> in Missouri.  Tantra is a 2010 Pushcart Prize Nominee and a recipient of the Kings County District Attorney's Office Women’s History Month Award for her artistic contributions to the borough of Brooklyn. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6VMGrO-W4MHNLcRHSWk6EgAl8kxzTMTxiKcLn6NjhXh0PitrNwKepzpiPY9-QwL4xh4XVa-Sp6pd726y4vuvAFrgKeXTy6m5EDiRyOPQMHatcZkxzmyKdk6X5WaU3DDEx0FfoKyH2l8/s1600/320.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6VMGrO-W4MHNLcRHSWk6EgAl8kxzTMTxiKcLn6NjhXh0PitrNwKepzpiPY9-QwL4xh4XVa-Sp6pd726y4vuvAFrgKeXTy6m5EDiRyOPQMHatcZkxzmyKdk6X5WaU3DDEx0FfoKyH2l8/s1600/320.jpeg" /></a></div><br />Tantra’s latest release, “<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984184465/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0984184465%22%3EGathered%20at%20Her%20Sky:%20Life%20Poems%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0984184465&camp=217145&creative=399349%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gathered at Her Sky</i></a>” from Poets Wear Prada Publishing, is available at Amazon and <a href="http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/gathered-at-her-sky/11040890">LULU.com</a> (June 2010).  Tantra, a mentor for <a href="http://girlchildnetworkworldwide.org/">Girl-Child Network Worldwide</a> (GCN), will donate partial proceeds from <i>Gathered at Her Sky</i> to GCN to provide education, personal items and empowerment for girls in Zimbabwe.  Tantra is also the author of “<a href="http://chumaspiritmagazine.typepad.com/chuma_spirit_ebooks/2008/11/alifepoeminprogress.html">alifepoeminprogress</a>” by <a href="http://chumaspiritmagazine.typepad.com/chuma_spirit_ebooks/">Chuma Spirit Books</a>, and her poetry was featured in <a href="http://www.essence.com/">Essence Magazine</a> and in spoken word publications such as Redeye, <a href="http://www.spokenvizions.com/">Spoken Vizions</a>, <a href="http://defpoetryjam.com/">defpoetryjam.com</a>, Platinum Poets, Sunpiper Press, Souled Up and <a href="http://poetswearprada.com/">poetswearprada.com</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tantra-zawadi is the host of her own spoken word series, WORDSPACE, and has made several appearances on cable television, local and satellite radio shows. Known for being on the cutting edge as an artist and for speaking out about issues such as HIV and AIDS awareness, Tantra’s poem and video “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPg5CEBJQwE">Scarlet Waters</a>,” was featured on the Product(RED) video wall created by U2’s Bono and Bobby Shriver, to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS in Africa.  Her short documentary, “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lCwzCt94DU">A Silent Genocide ~ A Brief Insight into HIV/AIDS</a>” edited by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/olivercovrett">Oliver Covrett</a>, takes another look at the personal impact of this disease.   Tantra also participated in a public service announcement for <a href="http://www.betah.com/">BETAH Associates</a> produced by Marc Herbert Productions aimed at promoting HIV/AIDS awareness.  Tantra’s videos and films may be viewed on-line @ <a href="http://www.youtube.com/tantrazawadi">www.youtube.com/tantrazawadi</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tantra-zawadi is a member of Collective Spirits and their “<a href="http://www.traxsource.com/index.php?act=show&fc=tpage&cr=titles&cv=20625">Love Planet</a>” EP produced by Jonny Montana and Neil Maclean (<a href="http://www.myspace.com/camio_recordings">Camio Recordings</a>), showcases Bennett Holland on keys, Tantra on poem and Dana Byrd on vocals (<a href="http://www.traxsource.com/index.php?act=show&fc=tpage&cr=titles&cv=20625">traxsource.com</a>).  Tantra is also a contributing artist on poetry compilations such as the award winning “<a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mwalim">Liberation Sessions: Soul of the City CD</a>” by Mwalim (<a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mwalim">cdbaby.com</a>), “<a href="http://www.traxsource.com/index.php?act=show&fc=tpage&cr=titles&cv=59357">Summerbreeze EP</a>” by Dolls Combers (<a href="http://www.traxsource.com/index.php?act=show&fc=tpage&cr=titles&cv=59357">traxsource.com</a>), “<a href="http://www.poeticstimulus.com/">Poetic Stimulus</a>” by Atlanta Red (<a href="http://www.poeticstimulus.com/">poeticstimulus.com</a>), “<a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/FloydBoykinJr">EARTHOLOGY</a>” by Floyd Boykin, Jr., poet/founder of Spoken Vizions Magazine (<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/FloydBoykinJr"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">cdbaby.com</span></a></span>), “<a href="http://www.cendrinemarrouat.com/cendrine-store/rizen/">Rizen</a>” by Cendrine Marrouat, recordings with world renowned DJ Groove Assassin on “<a href="http://www.traxsource.com/index.php?act=show&fc=tpage&cr=titles&cv=75858">Love Seeker</a>” (GKF Records), Soul Agenda’s “<a href="http://www.traxsource.com/index.php?act=show&fc=tpage&cr=titles&cv=72854">Don’t Let It Go</a>,” Nastee Nev’s “<a href="http://www.traxsource.com/index.php?act=show&fc=tpage&cr=titles&cv=64533&alias=upfront">Secrets of Life</a>” and “<a href="http://www.traxsource.com/index.php?act=show&fc=tpage&cr=titles&cv=55106">Giant Steps – Back From Miami</a>” with Dana Byrd on vocals for Do It Now Recordings - all available at <a href="http://www.traxsource.com/">traxsource.com</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Follow Tantra-zawadi Online</u></b><u>:</u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #003300;"><a href="http://www.tantra-zawadi.com/"><span style="color: #003300; text-decoration: none;">www.tantra-zawadi.com</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #003300;"><a href="http://www.pw.org/content/tantra_zawadi"><span style="color: #003300; text-decoration: none;">http://www.pw.org/content/tantra_zawadi</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/tantra.zawadi">www.facebook.com/tantra.zawadi</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/tantrais">www.myspace.com/tantrais</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.blackartinamerica.com/profile/Tantrazawadi"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">www.blackartinamerica.com/profile/Tantrazawadi</span></a></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Thanks to Tantra-zawadi for sharing her tattoos and poetry with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Tantra-zawadi

Today, as we enter our final week of this year's Tattooed Poets Project, we are honored to have Tantra-zawadi as our tattooed poet.Photo by Arnold BrowneTantra shared the tattoo visible on her right arm:This tattoo was done by Louis of Third Eye Tattoo in Brooklyn. Tantra explains:"Swans usually mat…

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The Tattooed Poets Project: Christina Continelli

Today's tattoo comes to us from poet Christina Continelli. This is part of the lower half of her arm sleeve:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoJg6FC7F57QMhPyHv0UT0XuJKIm9KoHbKveCqTsrQJCAWDzHi80zEdtf55HW-h7WC6fFAT6ZXL_31og8k2o9ox7QjQtL4ISId8Nk3Jn0L8OwdylNhI1Ct5CTJoniv5TsocvY984Y_2o/s1600/metal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoJg6FC7F57QMhPyHv0UT0XuJKIm9KoHbKveCqTsrQJCAWDzHi80zEdtf55HW-h7WC6fFAT6ZXL_31og8k2o9ox7QjQtL4ISId8Nk3Jn0L8OwdylNhI1Ct5CTJoniv5TsocvY984Y_2o/s400/metal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Christina explains the origin of this piece:<br /><blockquote>"The tattoo is from the front cover of a vintage <a href="http://www.heavymetal.com/">Heavy Metal</a> comic book my ex-boyfriend used to have. The sleeve was adapted from the drawing by Avelino Avilia at <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/spirits-in-the-flesh-tattoo-studio-san-francisco">Spirits in the Flesh Tattoo Studio</a> in San Francisco. I had the work done in 1997. There was no deep meaning behind it. I simply found the original image aesthetically pleasing."</blockquote>What follows is Christina's poem "Charity, " which, she says, "was supposed to be published in [another magazine] this year, but they fell off the face of the earth." Their loss is our gain, I say, and they haven't responded to her queries about the poem, so this would mark it's first publication, I believe.<br /><br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Charity</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This person who requires</div><div class="MsoNormal">very little of me</div><div class="MsoNormal">wrecks the neighborhood</div><div class="MsoNormal">in spirits and crushed feathers                </div><div class="MsoNormal">I wheedle the ajar door</div><div class="MsoNormal">just give a push</div><div class="MsoNormal">and enjoy the feel of it giving</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Let loose on the night</div><div class="MsoNormal">with you clawing behind me</div><div class="MsoNormal">feral, whip-tailed, gentle man</div><div class="MsoNormal">a shriek of rubber on wet pavement</div><div class="MsoNormal">and questions</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so many questions</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I feel two things:</div><div class="MsoNormal">the smoky grit of the upholstery &</div><div class="MsoNormal">the constellation of insects in my veins</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Lust is the arch of the moon</div><div class="MsoNormal">in the stomach of a middle-aged woman</div><div class="MsoNormal">perverse and sterile,</div><div class="MsoNormal">a sprinkling of glass and lacquer</div><div class="MsoNormal">from a childhood memory</div><div class="MsoNormal">of dark sex and rage</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I keep hearing you talk to me</div><div class="MsoNormal">It sounds like a sugar cube</div><div class="MsoNormal">muddled in brandy</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"> ~ ~ ~</div><br />Christina Continelli is a poet, fiction writer, and essayist. She cut her poetry teeth in the San Diego spoken word scene. In 2004 she moved to Oakland, California to attend the MFA program at <a href="http://www.cca.edu/">California College of the Arts</a>. Her work has appeared in <a href="http://www.pw.org/content/good_foot">Goodfoot Magazine</a>, <a href="http://www.slicemagazine.org/">Slice</a>, <a href="http://www.asu.edu/pipercwcenter/how2journal/">How2</a>,  and <a href="http://www.mondaynightlit.com/index.html">Monday Night Lit</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Christina for sharing her poem and tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">~<br /></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Christina Continelli

Today's tattoo comes to us from poet Christina Continelli. This is part of the lower half of her arm sleeve:Christina explains the origin of this piece:"The tattoo is from the front cover of a vintage Heavy Metal comic book my ex-boyfriend used to have. The sleeve was adapted from the drawing by A…

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The Tattooed Poets Project: Grisel Acosta

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Today's tattooed poet, Dr. Grisel  Y. Acosta, sends her submission in from Texas:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxGjtU4u5rmi7TU065dTE00rIVN13DNJxoOPpGD06XMNtVfhyphenhyphen75ah2lDi1Hib0iNUuzKATE-g2lvuZFK8wVkIhAjMzktBaeS7SyyNAAJExbELvwIbEkO24P3kC_jvsPjeqUYj8r0EuUQ/s1600/Grisel+Acosta+Tattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxGjtU4u5rmi7TU065dTE00rIVN13DNJxoOPpGD06XMNtVfhyphenhyphen75ah2lDi1Hib0iNUuzKATE-g2lvuZFK8wVkIhAjMzktBaeS7SyyNAAJExbELvwIbEkO24P3kC_jvsPjeqUYj8r0EuUQ/s640/Grisel+Acosta+Tattoo.jpg" width="497" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"> Grisel explains this body art: </div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">The <a href="http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nym">Mets</a> are kind of responsible for the tattoo I have on my arm and shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>See, my husband is obsessed with the Mets and when we moved to San Antonio from the East Coast, he lamented not being able to see his team on a regular basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>He was so puppy-dog sad that when he planned a trip to Houston purely on the basis of seeing the Mets play the <a href="http://houston.astros.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=hou">Astros</a> in Minute Maid Park, I couldn’t help but enthusiastically agree, just to see the wonderfully happy look on his face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>But, I said that if he was going to have a cool experience on the trip, I had to have one, too: I was to get my next tattoo at the famous <a href="http://www.texasbodyart.com/">Texas Body Art</a>, known for countless features in tattoo magazines and highlighted appearances at tattoo shows across the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I wanted a skull with blue roses coming out of it but I was wavering about the idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Then, a dear friend reminded me of the literary connection of the image in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Williams">Tennessee Williams</a>’ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glass_Menagerie"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Glass Menagerie</i></a>, one of my favorite plays by one of my favorite writers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Ah, yes, the idea <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> perfect—and the trip was, too!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The Mets won in a record 17 innings!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>And I won a professional work of art that was designed on the spot in a matter of minutes by the skilled artists at Texas Body Art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Sweet!</div></blockquote>For people not familiar with <i>The Glass Menagerie</i>, one of the characters, Laura, has the nickname "Blue Roses".<br /><br />Grisel also sent along this poem:<br /><blockquote><b><u>Trash</u></b> </blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">Papi threw out all my artwork.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Derek’s carved open chest,</div><div class="MsoNormal">blue-black heart and orange skin in</div><div class="MsoNormal">Design marker scrawl,</div><div class="MsoNormal">condemning our underground afternoon of</div><div class="MsoNormal">Southside sad lust.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">A spotlighted box of cereal called “Health”</div><div class="MsoNormal">in a room with a grass floor, pine tree</div><div class="MsoNormal">decoration, and chopped lumber sitting neatly.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Acrylic nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I miss this one the most.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I am reminded of it every time I shop at Whole Foods.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Even the two-bits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Tiny 2x2 art,</div><div class="MsoNormal">entered in competition, or sold.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Two of mine won awards.</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of them, my first sale, was bought for $5.</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was a multi-colored, swirling cathedral called “My Bed.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I placed all the work under the bed </div><div class="MsoNormal">in the guest room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>By my next visit,</div><div class="MsoNormal">it was gone,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">except for “Insane Bridget.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">She is framed and in the living room,</div><div class="MsoNormal">face turned away, bony back</div><div class="MsoNormal">curved at the viewer, harsh</div><div class="MsoNormal">charcoal on brown paper.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Dark copper sadness, winner of a gold prize.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Papi values winning.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anything else is trash.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">And this is why, today, he is so afraid,</div><div class="MsoNormal">scared that retirement means he, too, is trash, </div><div class="MsoNormal">wary of children who might find him useless.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">But artists make beauty out of trash.</div><div class="MsoNormal">We roll in the discarded and live with its decline,</div><div class="MsoNormal">listen to it crumble and make the sound song,</div><div class="MsoNormal">cradle it in our hands and sculpt it useful.</div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> ~ ~ ~</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Dr. Grisel Y. Acosta recently graduated from the doctoral program in English at the <a href="http://utsa.edu/">University of Texas at San Antonio</a>, where she was also the managing editor of UTSA’s art and literature journal, <a href="http://www.sagebrushreview.org/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SagebrushReview</i></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Some of her creative work can be found in <a href="http://www.afterhourspress.com/After%20Hours/Home.html"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">After Hours</i></a>, <a href="http://www.uncp.edu/pembrokemagazine/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pembroke Magazine</i></a>, <a href="http://mipoesias.com/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">MiPoesias</i></a>, the NAACP Image Award nominated <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0971905231/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0971905231%22%3ECheck%20the%20Rhyme:%20An%20Anthology%20of%20Female%20Poets%20&%20Emcees%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=0971905231&camp=217145&creative=399349%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Check the Rhyme</i></a>, <a href="http://www.privatephotoreview.com/en/index.php/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PrivateInternational Photo Review</i></a>, and <a href="http://www.voicesdelaluna.com/"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Voicesde la Luna</i></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Some of her scholarly work can be found in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20src=%22http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1443813591%22%20style=%22width:120px;height:240px;%22%20scrolling=%22no%22%20marginwidth=%220%22%20marginheight=%220%22%20frameborder=%220%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">African AmericanWomen’s Language</i></a>, <a href="http://english.usu.edu/wla.aspx"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Western AmericanLiterature</i></a>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805858407/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0805858407%22%3EHandbook%20of%20Latinos%20and%20Education:%20Theory,%20Research,%20and%20Practice%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=0805858407&camp=217145&creative=399349%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Handbook ofLatinos/as and Education</i></a>, and the forthcoming <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Routledge Companion to Latino/a Literature</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Her influences include her Cuban/Colombian heritage, Chicago—where she was born, house and punk music, sci-fi and cyberculture.</div><br />A sincere thanks to Grisel for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Grisel Acosta

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The Tattooed Poets Project: Jared Singer

<a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2011/04/tattooed-poets-project-elliott-d-smith.html">Yesterday</a>, we enjoyed the tattoos and poetry of <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2011/04/tattooed-poets-project-elliott-d-smith.html">Elliott D. Smith</a>. Today, we get to check out the work of his roommate, Jared Singer.<br /><br />I met Jared, along with Justin, last month at the Barnes & Noble flagship store. Like Elliott, Jared's tattoo is a work "in progress" inked by the incomparable <a href="http://www.1228tattoo.com/artists/">Joy Rumore</a> at <a href="http://www.1228tattoo.com/">Twelve 28 Tattoo</a> in Brooklyn.<br /><br />Check out Jared's upper right arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZT6VzGaDUdn1wCoOFBpCUUxqKc34Jo86UWKvlVrnvUye_NnKdVaqvKGP_xnBt8MoXSm7ZXVelt_dJnjqVwCq96xrNjsRXFJXMKEr3vuLIP6_1U0-LrZGNYd94p8nRnUiWk7p8elAnag/s1600/Jared+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZT6VzGaDUdn1wCoOFBpCUUxqKc34Jo86UWKvlVrnvUye_NnKdVaqvKGP_xnBt8MoXSm7ZXVelt_dJnjqVwCq96xrNjsRXFJXMKEr3vuLIP6_1U0-LrZGNYd94p8nRnUiWk7p8elAnag/s640/Jared+detail.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br />Jared explained that this tattoo has two origins. First, it was inspired by lyrics from a group called <a href="http://legendarymusic.net/">Living Legends</a>. More specifically, the words "I'm so fly, even my shadow has its own friends."<br /><br />The other motif in this piece comes from the lyrics in "9-5ers Anthem," by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aesop-Rock/104163806285550?ref=ts">Aesop Rock</a>, that proclaim, "I tend to underestimate my own average."<br /><br />Jared says he originally conceived of the piece consisting of "shadows with other shadows". Joy drew up the design and said, "How about this instead?"<br /><br />The rest is history. Well, sort of. As mentioned at the top of the post, this sleeve-to-be is still a work in progress.<br /><br />Jared shared this poem with us: <br /><br /><br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Last Love Letter from an Entomologist</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Dear Samantha,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I’m sorry, we have to get a divorce.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I know that seems like an odd way </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">to start a love letter, but let me explain.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Its not you,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">it’s definitely not me,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">it’s just, human beings don’t love </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">as well as insects do.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I love you far too much to let what we have </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">be ruined by the failings of our species.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">So instead,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I’m going to leave you now,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">while I can still remember you fondly.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I saw the way you looked at the waiter last night,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I know you would never do anything,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">you never do, but still I </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">saw the way you looked at the waiter last night.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Did you know that when a female fly </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">accepts the pheromones put off by a male</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">It rewrites the way her brain works, </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">destroys the receptors for pheromones.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Sensing the change, the male fly does the same.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">When flies love each other,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">they do it so hard,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">that they can never love anything else ever again.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">if either one dies before procreation</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">both sets of genetic code are lost forever.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Now that is dedication.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">After breaking up with Elizabeth</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">we spent three days dividing</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">everything we had bought together</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">like if I knew which pots were mine,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">like if I knew which drapes were mine,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">the pain would go away.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">When two praying mantises mate,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">the nervous system of the male</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">begins to shut down.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">While he still has control over his motor functions,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">he flips onto his back</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">exposing his soft underbelly to his lover like a gift.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">She then proceeds to lovingly</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">and I do mean lovingly</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> dice him into tiny pieces</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">which she  shoves carefully into mouth</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">wasting not a single morsel,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">even the exoskeleton must go.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">She does this so that </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">so that when their children are born</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">she has a first meal to regurgitate to feed them.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Now that is dedication.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I could never do that for you.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">So I have a new plan.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I plan on spending the rest of my life committing petty injustices.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I will jaywalk at every opportunity</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I will steal things I could easily afford</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I will be rude to strangers</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I hope you will do the same.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I hope reincarnation is real.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I hope that these petty crimes cause me to be reborn as a lesser creature.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6058251288236499429&postID=8493457638909191833" name="_GoBack"></a>I hope we are reborn as flies.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">So that we can love each other as hard as we were meant to.</div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">~ ~ ~ </div>We also have the good fortune of having video of Jared performing this piece at the <a href="http://www.bowerypoetry.com/">Bowery Poetry Club</a> in 2009:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="294" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B3wsSdPzAuQ" title="YouTube video player" width="469"></iframe><br /><br />Jared Singer is a poet and audio engineer who lives in New York City. While he may have physically grown up with his peers, he has never forgotten the imagination, magic, and nerdiness that were corner stones of his childhood. He hopes to remind others of these more creative times. He has been published by <a href="http://www.downdirtyword.com/">The Legendary</a>, <a href="http://unionstationmag.com/">Union Station Magazine</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/swappoetry">The Spoken Word Almanac Project 2010</a> and has also appeared on the <a href="http://www.indiefeedpp.libsyn.com/">Indiefeed Peformance Poetry</a> Podcast. He is the<a href="http://original.bowerypoetry.com/urbana/"> NYC Urbana</a> 2009 Grand Slam Poetry Champion, The 2009 NYC <a href="http://www.louderarts.com/">Louder Arts</a> Individual World Poetry Slam representative and a member of the 2010 <a href="http://www.nuyorican.org/poetryslam.php">Nuyorican Poets Cafe Poetry Slam Team.</a><br /><br />Much thanks and appreciation to Jared for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Jared Singer

Yesterday, we enjoyed the tattoos and poetry of Elliott D. Smith. Today, we get to check out the work of his roommate, Jared Singer.I met Jared, along with Justin, last month at the Barnes & Noble flagship store. Like Elliott, Jared's tattoo is a work "in progress" inked by the incomparable Joy Ru…

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