The Tattooed Poets Project: Jo Langton

Say what you will about the Tattooed Poets Project, but it has been dominated by Americans these past four years. Unless I'm forgetting someone, we've only had one poet featured from outside the U.S., and that was <a href="http://www.readthismagazine.co.uk/onenightstanzas/?page_id=2">Claire Askew</a>, whose ink appeared back in 2009 <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/04/claire-askews-two-naomis.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Well, this year we are expanding a bit more, including a few more poets that reside outside of the States, and our first such shining example is Jo Langton.<br /><br />Jo is sharing two tattoos, both of which were done by artists at <a href="http://www.afflecks.com/">Affleck’s Palace</a>, in Manchester UK. She doesn't remember the artists' names and explains,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"I got both of these tattoos in a bit of a grief stricken haze. I did not form a relationship with the artists in question, I turned up on the day and they slotted me in there and then. I didn’t want the artist or the tattooing experience to overshadow the meaning." </blockquote>This first tattoo was done in the spring of 2008:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7RQ_Ke3DFcWUcIIGojUEPkg-T2HlHFuFmw7Hz3198Rh-ni634jUi8ylHpxLLootcFnBX2wJE0LRT2ZBewDfvk4ARiSGVfkVtpiPn0KR7PoIVWQGi4p66MYW27rSU7JMKMSDw81IM4y0/s1600/Let+Go.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7RQ_Ke3DFcWUcIIGojUEPkg-T2HlHFuFmw7Hz3198Rh-ni634jUi8ylHpxLLootcFnBX2wJE0LRT2ZBewDfvk4ARiSGVfkVtpiPn0KR7PoIVWQGi4p66MYW27rSU7JMKMSDw81IM4y0/s400/Let+Go.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Jo elaborates:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"The inspiration for this tattoo came, in part, from my over-indulgence in the song '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Let_Go.ogg">Let Go</a>' by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/froufrou">Frou Frou</a> (featured on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_State_(film)">Garden State</a> soundtrack) and equally from the death of my Grandad. I wanted something visual to remind me to let go of my past misdemeanours and lack of motivation, and to signify a push forward in my life that sprung from my Granddad’s last words to me 'keep on keeping it up' in relation to the study of my degree."</blockquote>She also shared this tattoo that was inked last summer, in 2011:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7uZP79FgMytEnMUh0mUgwXo7F352TjdxORrjrB6CWr_hcXe-gq5osmp33NVh95Ub894MfgZJNXx8wAF_xgq8PNiwu-9XLBcC9RIGLPnQW07MPQTeVUB6gmFoB-F2AA4ytW7k-UVVxrI/s1600/Hold+On.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7uZP79FgMytEnMUh0mUgwXo7F352TjdxORrjrB6CWr_hcXe-gq5osmp33NVh95Ub894MfgZJNXx8wAF_xgq8PNiwu-9XLBcC9RIGLPnQW07MPQTeVUB6gmFoB-F2AA4ytW7k-UVVxrI/s640/Hold+On.jpg" width="392" /></a></div><br />Jo Continues:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"When my Grandpa died a couple of years later, it felt only natural for me to once again, signify this time in my life. I had completed my degree and achieved a First Class Honours. Neither of my grandfathers were around to see this, but I know they both would have been proud to know I had made it. I was proud of myself, and proved that holding on to what I wanted from life would have fruitful effects, just as my Grandad had said three years earlier."</blockquote>Here's a poem from Jo:<br /><br /><b>SAY IT W / POIS [ON] </b><br /><br />she tried <br />silent <br />He pursed <br /><br />‘Perhaps’    crisply,<br /><br />pressing it against her        and resentful        unexpectedly<br /><br />found another, eh ? you say, we go inside. <br /><br />Indoors he bent over the doll <br />seemed singularly loath to touch <br />kind of stuff before the ox heart <br />answer and <br /><br />surprised, you know <br />know anything about these horrible things <br />[I haven’t told her / if that’s what you mean] <br />admitting ? <br /><br />folding his pale soft hands together <br />them on his turquoise knees <br />see the doll <br />its chief disfigurement <br />deliberately inflicted <br /><br />either / a / sharp / knife / or / scissors <br /><br />the human shape of the thing made it particularly sinister.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jo Langton is a poet from Manchester, UK, currently studying her MA in Creative Writing at the <a href="http://www.salford.ac.uk/">University of Salford</a>. She had her first chapbook published with Liverpool-based small press <a href="http://www.erbacce-press.com/#">Erbacce</a> and it can be found <a href="http://www.erbacce-press.com/#/jo-langton/4555536943">here</a>. She has since gone on to be published online in <a href="http://barehandspoetry.tumblr.com/">Bare Hands</a>, <a href="http://issuu.com/railroadpoetryproject/docs/issue3">The Railroad Poetry Project</a>, Streetcake and <a href="http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/">3AM Magazine</a>. She has a set of hand sew tea bags with word-leaves forthcoming from <a href="http://zimzalla.co.uk/">Zimzalla</a>.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Thanks to Jo for sharing her poem and tattoos with us here on the Tattooed Poets Project!</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.</span><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 http://tattoosday.blogspot.com 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>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Jo Langton

Say what you will about the Tattooed Poets Project, but it has been dominated by Americans these past four years. Unless I'm forgetting ...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Adam "Bucho" Rodenberger

Today's tattooed poet is <a href="http://triphoprisy.blogspot.com/">Adam "Bucho" Rodenberger</a>. He sent in this sweet tattoo that is ideal for a crafter of words:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsmligibe0w0JUH3G2B9_hhgGjT6MQ8tZpTDixpXR8SXg1rWLFsD7BbF0R-g8enp0Xp4vMnWVfDISSjL_6RmJqvLo1cXcWdDoRss5NKJhE_GozGoCE5StRTFSW0J07miReoj_FLCVQIo/s1600/feather+ink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsmligibe0w0JUH3G2B9_hhgGjT6MQ8tZpTDixpXR8SXg1rWLFsD7BbF0R-g8enp0Xp4vMnWVfDISSjL_6RmJqvLo1cXcWdDoRss5NKJhE_GozGoCE5StRTFSW0J07miReoj_FLCVQIo/s400/feather+ink.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><br />Bucho explains:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"It had been 12 years since I'd last gotten a tattoo and, having moved to San Francisco in 2009 to pursue my MFA in Writing, I felt it was time for another mile-marker. I had been writing off and on since 1995, but got much more serious about the craft around 2003. By the time the summer of 2010 rolled around, I had completed one novel, half-completed two others for my program, and had a slew of publishing credits for some of my flash fiction and my poetry. I wanted something big, something grand and awe-inspiring, something that would keep me motivated to continue writing even when stuck in the worst of ruts.<br /><br />I always wait a year before getting any new ink done purely to make sure I want it. Once this grace period was over, I searched out artists in the bay area and found <a href="http://www.seventhsontattoo.com/gordon_combs.php">Gordon Combs</a> at <a href="http://seventhsontattoo.com/">Seventh Son Tattoo</a>. His art was both lifelike and cartoonish at the same time but without sacrificing any seriousness and I knew that he was the one I wanted. Thankfully, after months of trying to get an appointment settled, I went in for a six-hour session and had the whole piece done in a day. What I like most about the piece is that, when my arm is bent, the feather appears to be dipped into the spilled bottle of ink on the forearm. The effect is quite nice and I've received a lot of compliments on it, even though my artist is the guy who deserves the praise." </blockquote>The following was submitted by Bucho for Tattoosday:<br /><br /><b>Paris<br /></b><br /><br />Bless me, pages,<br />for I have not penned<br />and it has been several months<br />since my last confession.<br />I lack the paper<br />to summarize concisely<br />as the pen-born word<br />must be writ precisely.<br />If this ink runs,<br />my hand is unsteady.<br />My apologies,<br />I have put faith in armadas<br />to bring Helen home<br />while prayer-lighting<br />straw gods up in slow effigies<br />and my hands have<br />benedictioned themselves until weary.<br /><br />Bless me, pages,<br />for I have now penned<br />and it had been several months<br />since my last confession.<br />I prayed at your altar<br />and recited your hymns,<br />crafted cursive letters<br />birthed by Seraphim.<br />I spun tales towards the heavens<br />and made deals with below<br />while awaiting armadas<br />with Helen in tow.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br />Adam “Bucho” Rodenberger is a 33 year old writer from Kansas City living in San Francisco. He has been writing off and on since 1995, but consistently since 2004. He holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy & Creative Writing and completed his MFA in Writing at the University of San Francisco in 2011. <br /><br />He began as a poet, but soon moved to flash fiction and short stories, only turning to longer works of fiction once he arrived in San Francisco. He is currently working on five experimental novels in the magical realism and surrealism genres. <br /><br />Among his publication credits are <a href="http://www.rpwriters.com/M_Dec2007/Bucho.html">Red Pulp Underground</a>, <a href="http://www.alorsettoi.com/one/fables_rodenberger.html">Alors, Et Tois</a>, <a href="http://gloomcupboard.blogspot.com/">Gloom Cupboard</a> (#15), <a href="http://www.upthestaircase.org/bucho.htm">Up The Staircase</a> #1, and <a href="http://www.santaclarareview.com/node/39">Santa Clara Review</a>.<br /><br />You can visit Bucho at <a href="http://triphoprisy.blogspot.com/">Fists & Angles, Christs & Angels</a> <a href="http://triphoprisy.blogspot.com/">here</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Bucho for his participation in the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><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 http://tattoosday.blogspot.com 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>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Adam "Bucho" Rodenberger

Today's tattooed poet is Adam "Bucho" Rodenberger . He sent in this sweet tattoo that is ideal for a crafter of words: Bucho e...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Rob Ganson

Next up on the Tattooed Poets Project is Rob Ganson, who informs us "I am tattooed over 75% of my body with award winning ink by my friend Ron Stephens of Tattoo Alley in Ashland, Wisconsin." <br /><br />Rob has sent us a plethora of tattoos, a sample of which follows:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqySgoJL5jSsSudYsTnCZByREUeiHAqyirAXRYD87xL0LUahOULfQM2-6o4dw79MmcGmJj_FMj3QEvPwgmyt7qlXaXA6SkK79_rkqWCEoDBbgHb4zoJbkTZpBhcA6tFBEePGtB6cIuV6E/s1600/rob+back+piece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqySgoJL5jSsSudYsTnCZByREUeiHAqyirAXRYD87xL0LUahOULfQM2-6o4dw79MmcGmJj_FMj3QEvPwgmyt7qlXaXA6SkK79_rkqWCEoDBbgHb4zoJbkTZpBhcA6tFBEePGtB6cIuV6E/s640/rob+back+piece.jpg" width="452" /></a></div><br />"The back piece was Ron's interpretation on a  <a href="http://www.frankfrazetta.org/">[Frank] Frazetta</a> painting called 'The Moonmaid.' "<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://johneaves.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/moonmaid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://johneaves.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/moonmaid.jpg" width="504" /></a></div><br />Next up is this portrait of Jim Morrison:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmq8y10gcLZjAexGiRksd5xxOALEL8l8a8D-Mi83VjV6B_kIRzyCh_fQbR_LAhLMTHBvsgrwIvaaS6a49BJFlSRZ7GHv_Yekf46v8dWvwe13BCmmf0lNTveH_vpUj-GKZD63f4_leBLGw/s1600/jim.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmq8y10gcLZjAexGiRksd5xxOALEL8l8a8D-Mi83VjV6B_kIRzyCh_fQbR_LAhLMTHBvsgrwIvaaS6a49BJFlSRZ7GHv_Yekf46v8dWvwe13BCmmf0lNTveH_vpUj-GKZD63f4_leBLGw/s400/jim.JPG" width="296" /></a></div><br />Rob says this tattoo of the self-proclaimed "Lizard King" was inspired by Morrison's introduction of poetry to the masses of the rock audience.<br /><br />And, well,<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPt5jG7setPh8f4XA5fzKmPvBNcjkhfgMyPx5YOOAVIHcnq7LYWi_3qtxjEYJICFSBcprSw702Cr_JdqCHr-1y_oWp7J9mj0FTIq2N0r4cHUrc5IEemA9NBHSa4AMzRN4YPLx5ej1F8aI/s1600/frank.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPt5jG7setPh8f4XA5fzKmPvBNcjkhfgMyPx5YOOAVIHcnq7LYWi_3qtxjEYJICFSBcprSw702Cr_JdqCHr-1y_oWp7J9mj0FTIq2N0r4cHUrc5IEemA9NBHSa4AMzRN4YPLx5ej1F8aI/s400/frank.JPG" width="175" /></a></div><br /> this homage to "Frank Zappa ... happened because, well, Zappa RULED!"<br /><br />And just so we can pay tribute to other great figures in music, Rob also shared this portrait of the Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfKltAywUWOrJi4Ac5U_VwKl-RGbm100zOUqSoA5wN2dWMF2_1bFxHNih92c_CvqtAAfgrIBjrEMq22LOiDRwuzXvH0AuNF9crGs2JnZLpxbO5PLIovTsCswZCFWdRc5cX-Ud27Fm1-g/s1600/keith.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfKltAywUWOrJi4Ac5U_VwKl-RGbm100zOUqSoA5wN2dWMF2_1bFxHNih92c_CvqtAAfgrIBjrEMq22LOiDRwuzXvH0AuNF9crGs2JnZLpxbO5PLIovTsCswZCFWdRc5cX-Ud27Fm1-g/s400/keith.JPG" width="375" /></a></div><br />and the legendary bluesman Robert Johnson:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOhkASuOa6tLNASFj9yf0DJw5a7uyp_bOO-mUO1tAsBBXd7EC22s4Tzi2kj-svesLxL__hJvpWvogWpTtb_QJ_gdh6Q3n8DtSJMFynfJdgPw1cJ8-U4G9OoAI5slgttJPkbCce1AQK9Q/s1600/robert.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOhkASuOa6tLNASFj9yf0DJw5a7uyp_bOO-mUO1tAsBBXd7EC22s4Tzi2kj-svesLxL__hJvpWvogWpTtb_QJ_gdh6Q3n8DtSJMFynfJdgPw1cJ8-U4G9OoAI5slgttJPkbCce1AQK9Q/s320/robert.JPG" width="176" /></a></div><br />All in all, quite a collection of music legends on Mr. Ganson's body!<br /><br />As for a poem, Rob sent me several poems for submission and I chose this one:<br /><br /><b>Echoes 13</b><br /><br /><i>“I turned silences and nights into words. What was unutterable, I wrote down. I made the whirling world stand still.” ― Arthur Rimbaud</i><br /><br />What use a poet<br />but to hurl language<br />like a spear, to<br />sear the eye<br />of the<br />reader?<br /><br />And you, dear reader - <br />plagued by open eyes - <br />must bear the brunt<br />of moments - <br />blunt trauma -<br />served like<br />songs.<br /><br />I unfurl burly invective<br />best left to nightmare<br />to make jejune<br />spirits swoon<br />forever,<br /><br />and as the world churns<br />absent these nightmares<br />the echoes fall - <br />moments caught<br />in poet's leaves <br />freeze like<br />Coleridge's<br />window.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br />Rob Ganson is a poet from the shore of Lake Superior. He has been published in three volumes of poetry, <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/rob-ganson/float-like-a-butterfly-sing-like-a-tree/paperback/product-781858.html;jsessionid=BBC5072194F3675967D5B2F6D27F3943">Float like a Butterfly, Sing like a Tree</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Follow-Clear-River-Down-Ganson/dp/0578009196">Follow the Clear River Down</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Of-Horses-Rob-Ganson/dp/1257983954/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332692018&sr=1-1">A Storm of Horses</a>, as well as in numerous anthologies and journals. He tends to write on themes of nature and the human condition.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMXOjygiKQri0PaNoNfcixLK6XT5ilJXkR1CyKmXZ9VzkB2mY9KR7-0XyG8QbfHfJ1HoJ7yiYirHdt-wa_I5SD4BzzbHG5nZR-Qgo-RGGZn-ZhO_1eGxbO5ZmZ_snMvXJ04uay6dYPOw/s1600/cover+half.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMXOjygiKQri0PaNoNfcixLK6XT5ilJXkR1CyKmXZ9VzkB2mY9KR7-0XyG8QbfHfJ1HoJ7yiYirHdt-wa_I5SD4BzzbHG5nZR-Qgo-RGGZn-ZhO_1eGxbO5ZmZ_snMvXJ04uay6dYPOw/s400/cover+half.jpg" width="272" /></a></div><br /><br />Thanks to Rob for sharing his cool tattoos and poetry with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br />This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoos are reprinted with the poet's permission.<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 http://tattoosday.blogspot.com 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.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Rob Ganson

Next up on the Tattooed Poets Project is Rob Ganson, who informs us "I am tattooed over 75% of my body with award winning ink by my fri...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Andrea England

Our next tattooed poet is Andrea England, who submitted this photo of her tattoo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3z-8L-GPuSp7yzZsJPYrS_9AtgGWaVIKKXiHJKr2tSZM0qg19DCDki9vfy7lkyOz1EaZmElPF4B6QnHgM3rXG0lFMOE4CDa9bZKA1gVnL36QwzAWN8mc3jz6YOWqWx6EgoKP1VHmxYM/s1600/andrea+england.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3z-8L-GPuSp7yzZsJPYrS_9AtgGWaVIKKXiHJKr2tSZM0qg19DCDki9vfy7lkyOz1EaZmElPF4B6QnHgM3rXG0lFMOE4CDa9bZKA1gVnL36QwzAWN8mc3jz6YOWqWx6EgoKP1VHmxYM/s400/andrea+england.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Andrea explains:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"In 2001, I was able to take a trip to Ireland, the place of my mother’s ancestry, a place that she regretted never having visited. When I returned from Ireland I decided to tattoo her maiden initials on my arm in the original Celtic font used in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells">The Book of Kells</a>; CFM stands for Catherine Fallon McGinnis. </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSic7mPrUD1Qy-gYfBy880osEAERDqjqFMmbGueUWsA_tzPm-q3q1XP2XlCZMUyQEzrTJWkdojAiVSbEIW-_k7fKUB_fHv923Bc3HBZD3T5mOfmxf1tDTIKWiEcecY3FozrpOAkfEfVc/s1600/celtic+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSic7mPrUD1Qy-gYfBy880osEAERDqjqFMmbGueUWsA_tzPm-q3q1XP2XlCZMUyQEzrTJWkdojAiVSbEIW-_k7fKUB_fHv923Bc3HBZD3T5mOfmxf1tDTIKWiEcecY3FozrpOAkfEfVc/s320/celtic+detail.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><a href="http://chameleonbodyarts.com/home.html">Chameleon</a> in Harvard Square was my choice shop. The funny part is I had a difficult time convincing the artist to work on the inside of my arm. He kept asking me, 'Are you sure you want it there? You aren’t going to be able to hide it. Are you sure you don’t want a smaller font?' After some heckling, he gave me what I wanted. I take pride that she is there, and can’t hide from me or the world."</blockquote>Here is one of Andrea's poems:<br /><br /><b>Discourse of Bric-a-brac</b><br /><br />Insomnia in a twin bed,<br />the screech of brakes before<br />inevitable. Like the stray dog<br />gigolo, tags intact, jangling,<br />neighbors clamoring over each.<br />Who locked whom out. Get out.<br />Last time. The woo before sex, the sex,<br />the prayer you will drift asleep first<br />and the skateboard wheel as it fills each rut<br />in the walk just before the little boy falls.<br /><br />Oklahoma City, the morning after<br />snow when you’ve only thin sandals.<br />That cold burning you thought you could<br />control by sleeping in separate beds,<br />stingray on the beach, insides pecked out,<br />still breathing and that sad miracle.<br />It’s disregarding the phone at 4am,<br />the trill of it or the painter in the dream<br />when he whispers, <i>You can open your mouth</i><br /><i>if you want to.</i> This indecision.<br /><br />Because your roommate would kill the spiders<br />behind the blinds, because the dishes in the sink<br />are desire and desire clutter.<br />Because in the sixth grade you wore<br />deodorant but no scent, underwear in the shower,<br />and watched the cool kids kiss formulas<br />out of each other after school. It’s because<br />by Darwin’s calculations we’re still here<br />surviving, fit to love best uneven,<br />even when there’s no love left.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Andrea England is a student, a mother, poet, and teacher, who resides in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her work has appeared, or is forthcoming in, <a href="http://passagesnorth.com/">Passages North</a>, <a href="http://www.cutthroatmag.com/">Cutthroat Magazine</a>, <a href="http://www.dmqreview.com/">The DMQ Review</a>, <a href="http://rhinopoetry.org/">RHINO</a>, and others. Dogs and cold, snowy winters are also worth mentioning as objects of her affection.<br /><br />Thanks to Andrea for sharing her work with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.18809133558534086"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 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></span></b>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Andrea England

Our next tattooed poet is Andrea England, who submitted this photo of her tattoo: Andrea explains: "In 2001, I was able to take a trip ...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Karrie Waarala

Our next tattooed poet is <a href="http://www.poetrysideshow.com/">Karrie Waarala</a>, who chose to share this stunning tattoo: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.24618310341611505"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjd_sy6nP-Pgsb5Fp80U0luIcgpntDu9_2vahZI9Y0_SVBuQUvu3-G4iRQUwRXh9y3z4JSNs7wjt96ihTHzT2c1nj2ebTTQ1cp-b_vQKWBRqUSK_bFwLo_nxUx_TFWKdq59XIMjkMfQHM/s1600/Waarala+tiger+tattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjd_sy6nP-Pgsb5Fp80U0luIcgpntDu9_2vahZI9Y0_SVBuQUvu3-G4iRQUwRXh9y3z4JSNs7wjt96ihTHzT2c1nj2ebTTQ1cp-b_vQKWBRqUSK_bFwLo_nxUx_TFWKdq59XIMjkMfQHM/s640/Waarala+tiger+tattoo.jpg" width="480" /></a></b></div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.24618310341611505"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Located on her upper right arm, Karrie explained the origin of this art:</span></b><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“This tattoo is a painting by my favorite artist, <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/marc/">Franz Marc</a>, whose career full of bold, colorful animals was cut far too short by his death in World War I. I had known I wanted a Marc tattoo for some time and had been shopping around for the right artist to do the work. I was getting a variety of unsatisfactory answers to my queries until I brought the design to <a href="http://www.xstattoo.com/portfolio_matt.html">Matt Hessler</a>, who owns <a href="http://xstattoo.com/">XS Tattoo</a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in Rochester, MI. He knows art, liked the project, and he's done all of my work since.”</span></b></blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The painting replicated in the tattoo is called “The Tiger” and dates to 1912, one hundred years ago.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://data.whicdn.com/images/12110315/Franz-Marc-Tiger-GC-731x1024_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://data.whicdn.com/images/12110315/Franz-Marc-Tiger-GC-731x1024_large.jpg" width="456" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Karrie shared this tattoo, she chose the following poem, which originally appeared in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://arseniclobster.magere.com/">Arsenic Lobster</a>:</span><br /><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7725150894839317"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Franz Marc, on the Occasion of His Thirty-Sixth Birthday</span></b><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7725150894839317"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">           </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(February 8, 1880 – March 4, 1916, Verdun)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /><br class="kix-line-break" />Was it a day like the crush of all days,</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">soot and stink smearing hours into each other,<br class="kix-line-break" />death marching on spindly legs across trenches,<br class="kix-line-break" />palette reduced to churned mud, choked sky,<br class="kix-line-break" />crusted blood on gunmetal.<br class="kix-line-break" /><br class="kix-line-break" />Did you steal any slaughter moments,<br class="kix-line-break" />borrow butcher’s pigments long enough<br class="kix-line-break" />to catch war’s angry tigers, pour them<br class="kix-line-break" />haphazard into kaleidoscopes,<br class="kix-line-break" />or push the peasant heft of draft horses<br class="kix-line-break" />deftly through sharp prism angles.<br class="kix-line-break" /><br class="kix-line-break" />Did any of your singed nape hairs stir<br class="kix-line-break" />hint at the slow whistle of incoming days,<br class="kix-line-break" />head bursting into spray of colors<br class="kix-line-break" />thrumming with life as your canvases,<br class="kix-line-break" />while orders flapped on insufficient wings<br class="kix-line-break" />declaring you too vital to be ground into France.</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did you hear the animals weep?</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7725150894839317"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></b><span style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</span></b></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Karrie Waarala holds an MFA from the <a href="http://usm.maine.edu/stonecoastmfa">Stonecoast Program at University of Southern Maine</a> and is a teaching artist at </span><a href="http://poetrycoop.com/" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rooster Moans</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> poetry cooperative. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in journals such as </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://ironhorsereview.com/">Iron Horse Literary Review</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.pankmagazine.com/author/karrie-l-waarla/">PANK</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://thecollagist.submishmash.com/submit">The Collagist</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://arseniclobster.magere.com/">Arsenic Lobster</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.radiuslit.org/">Radius</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In addition to a <a href="http://www.pushcartprize.com/">Pushcart Prize</a> nomination for her poetry, Karrie has received critical acclaim for her one-woman show, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://poetrysideshow.com/content/long-gone-poetry-sideshow">LONG GONE: A Poetry Sideshow</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which is based on her collection of poems about the circus. She really wishes she could tame tigers and swallow swords. </span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Thanks again to Karrie for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7725150894839317"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.</span></b></div><div><span id="internal-source-marker_0.7725150894839317" style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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/" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 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></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Karrie Waarala

Our next tattooed poet is Karrie Waarala , who chose to share this stunning tattoo: Located on her upper right arm, Karrie explained the ori...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Eric Morago

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">This morning's tattooed poet is <a href="http://www.ericmorago.com/">Eric Morago</a>, who shares these lines of verse from his forearm:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOuEq_5-X8nc6CdoGg9oWWANxi7fcqfSzbF7TSlqGbsQRMXszV0byFxRCG2ZJ5ftOHLC9vBnYn2p0EOJNy-xU1-_uFj-xCIdfbs6UCZXodZHui0rTyvDHJw5kB7dNZ8pxWNl31W-XmOkE/s1600/MoragoTattoo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOuEq_5-X8nc6CdoGg9oWWANxi7fcqfSzbF7TSlqGbsQRMXszV0byFxRCG2ZJ5ftOHLC9vBnYn2p0EOJNy-xU1-_uFj-xCIdfbs6UCZXodZHui0rTyvDHJw5kB7dNZ8pxWNl31W-XmOkE/s640/MoragoTattoo1.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I am a BIG <a href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/394">Charles Bukowski</a> fan, so I immediately recognized these lines ("what matters most / is how you / walk through the / fire") when I saw the photo. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Eric explains:</span></span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">"The tattoo is taken from a the title of a collection of </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">poems </span></span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">by Charles Bukowski.</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"> </span></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZm8xNT5l42rKz2000kfKLBKoDyBn82E7Jr1HocdKu1_nUqhsVxiftCW48s_I7Rr4zUQE64GXkZr8upyNl6KXNUeZs56KQFqLyHQpagEalPm6At5TSVz7iz-8g7f0zEbMMyPhQq54PxM/s1600/buk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZm8xNT5l42rKz2000kfKLBKoDyBn82E7Jr1HocdKu1_nUqhsVxiftCW48s_I7Rr4zUQE64GXkZr8upyNl6KXNUeZs56KQFqLyHQpagEalPm6At5TSVz7iz-8g7f0zEbMMyPhQq54PxM/s400/buk.jpg" width="236" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">I got [the tattoo] over Thanksgiving break at a local tattoo shop (Body Art Tattoo) in my hometown of Whittier, CA during my first semester of grad school.  I had just finished grading a bunch of papers as well as writing my own for a class and was just overwhelmed by what the next two years had in store for me that I wanted to do something commemorate the struggle ahead.  So that when all was said and done, M.F.A in hand, there was also tangible proof (besides a piece of paper) for what I had I succeeded in obtaining.  And the words would be a damn good reminder on those occasions where papers and grading and thesis deadlines loomed in the distance." </span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">By way of poetry, Eric offers up this tattoo-related gem:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">ENTANGLED</span></blockquote><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">A beautiful portrait of destruction,<br />her back is tattooed from shoulder<br />to shoulder—a giant octopus tears<br />boats apart with unworldly tendrils.<br />This turns me on.  I am a prepubescent<br />again thinking I’ve found ambrosia<br />between the pages of Victoria’s Secret<br />catalogues.  I get dizzy, lost in fantasy.<br />How though its body is submerged<br />in murky water, hidden by shading,<br />I believe the monster is winking at me.<br />I sit, imagine freckles into tiny frenzied<br />sailors jumping ship into the dark of her<br />skin, sinking down spine’s curve,<br />drowning, or falling into the creature’s<br />waiting, open-beaked mouth.  I would<br />never tell her any of this, of course.<br />Better she stay in the peep, a shadowy<br />figure of myth.  And like a yarn-spinning<br />seadog swearing by fantastical beasts—<br />all tentacles, sharp snouted and snarl<br />toothed—I too am ensnared, imagination<br />entangled in the suction-cupped arms<br />of wanting.  It is all I can do to fight,<br />struggle being pulled under an inky<br />veil where our eyes can clearly meet,<br />where any and all mystique is gone.</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">~ ~ ~</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Eric Morago is a <a href="http://www.pushcartprize.com/">Pushcart Prize</a>-nominated poet who believes performance carries as much importance on the page, as it does off. Currently Eric is an an associate reviewer for <a href="http://poetix.net/">Poetix.net</a>, poet-in-residence with <a href="http://calworkforce.org/">California WorkforceAssociation</a>, and teaches workshops for <a href="http://redhen.org/">Red Hen Press’</a> <a href="http://redhen.org/about-us-2/writing-in-the-schools/">Writing in the Schools</a> program. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.moontidepress.com/publishing/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/image/What-We-Ache-For-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.moontidepress.com/publishing/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/image/What-We-Ache-For-cover.jpg" width="210" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">His first full length collection of poetry and prose entitled, <a href="http://www.moontidepress.com/our-books/what-we-ache-for/what-we-ache-for/">What We Ache For</a>, is available from <a href="http://www.moontidepress.com/">Moon Tide Press</a>. Eric holds an <st1:stockticker>MFA</st1:stockticker> in Creative Writing from <a href="http://www.csulb.edu/">California State University, Long Beach</a> and lives to write in Whittier, CA.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thanks to Eric for sharing his poem and tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><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 <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>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Eric Morago

This morning's tattooed poet is Eric Morago , who shares these lines of verse from his forearm: I am a BIG Charles Bukowski fan, so I i...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Noelle Kocot

We are launching this, our fourth year of celebrating tattooed poets for National Poetry Month, with the work of an amazingly talented writer, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noelle_Kocot">Noelle Kocot</a>. I had first approached Noelle about participating last year, but it never came to fruition.This year, however, we were able to pull it together.<br /><br />First, here's a glimpse of Noelle's tattoo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXP6Cbbr5nXJimsGTMobsHH9ZCEXhsjerk5v9bhjgkO5CpEg5UOS4Z3d6qKyAyMe48f6P19iVK4D_ocPnRSLWRtcNQOuR0byUtuOIIpNrnKla3HTCpTwTbWgT86ihwNCnAGm1Dh-vd64/s1600/kocot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXP6Cbbr5nXJimsGTMobsHH9ZCEXhsjerk5v9bhjgkO5CpEg5UOS4Z3d6qKyAyMe48f6P19iVK4D_ocPnRSLWRtcNQOuR0byUtuOIIpNrnKla3HTCpTwTbWgT86ihwNCnAGm1Dh-vd64/s320/kocot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />As tattoos go, this is fairly simple and straight forward. It's the name "Damon," but it's not just any name.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EAl9sS5wgH-c842WS0tDbCMQOWNntTt0L721eIhnRrXTQnd_aSCjgWwm39aJTIj4kscMobhiY6DukGpT6iY-NpovVJKvt9mqLNewRy8xe6mMDVHgfATxyDs_CX4Teuxxh0DPFXE5-rI/s1600/kocot+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EAl9sS5wgH-c842WS0tDbCMQOWNntTt0L721eIhnRrXTQnd_aSCjgWwm39aJTIj4kscMobhiY6DukGpT6iY-NpovVJKvt9mqLNewRy8xe6mMDVHgfATxyDs_CX4Teuxxh0DPFXE5-rI/s320/kocot+detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Damon Tomblin  was Noelle's husband, who died on March 10, 2004. She had his name memorialized in December, later that year. This is her only tattoo.  I'd point you to <a href="http://dewclawjournal.com/issue-3/damon-tomblin/">this page</a> from <i>dewclaw journal</i> to read a little more from Noelle about Damon, and hear a few movements from a sonata Damon composed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Noelle offered us the following poem, which originally appeared in <i><a href="http://www.tinhouse.com/blog/home-page">Tin House</a>, </i>and was later included in her book <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933517395/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1933517395%22%3ESunny%20Wednesday%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1933517395%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">Sunny Wednesday</a>:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><blockquote><u>12^th Wedding Anniversary</u><u><br /></u><u><br /></u>Jailed and decreased, my doughnuts rise.</blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Have a feather, don’t ask why,<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>There is a <st1:place>Coney Island</st1:place> in my eye.<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Hair and plaid rabbits,<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Anniversal belief is the strongest to go<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Over a listless sky, a prevenient frost.<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Let’s go to the Cloisters<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>And all you can eat sushi<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>My tattoo should be healed now.<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Dear, you are a norming legend in the kitty-star.<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>I eat for two, on the evening of<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>We knew each other before our faces and our names.</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">~ ~ ~</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></b></div><b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Noelle Kocot</b><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> is </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">the author of five full-length collections of poetry,</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> including most recently, </span><i style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_225933655">The Bigger World</a></i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.wavepoetry.com/catalog/98-the-bigger-world"> </a>(</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Wave Books, 2011) and </span><i style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.wavepoetry.com/catalog/68-sunny-wednesday">Sunny Wednesday</a></i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> (</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Wave Books,</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">2009). She has also recently published a limited-edition collection of translations of the poems of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_Corbi%C3%A8re">Tristan Corbière</a>, as </span><i style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Poet-Default-Tristan-Corbiere/dp/1933517603/ref=sr_1_sc_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331345217&sr=1-3-spell">Poet By Default</a></i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> (</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Wave Books,</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">2011). Kocot has received numerous honors for her poetry, including a <a href="http://www.nea.org/">NEA</a> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">fellowship</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">and inclusion in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1198464601">The Best American Poetry </a></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://bestamericanpoetry.com/pages/volumes/?id=2001">2001</a> and <a href="http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/2011/12/the-best-american-poetry-2011to-be-human.html">2011</a>.</span> <br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thanks to Noelle for her contribution, and helping us launch this, our fourth year of the Tattooed Poets Project!</span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><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=1933517395" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. Photos courtesy of Noelle Kocot. Poem reprinted with the author's permission.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><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: Noelle Kocot

We are launching this, our fourth year of celebrating tattooed poets for National Poetry Month, with the work of an amazingly talented write...

Read more »