Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog)

The Tattooed Poets Project: Shana Wolstein

Our penultimate tattooed poet is Shana Wolstein, who sent us this photo: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNY5Rb0I539_AFnDaiILFbPk5z1AgnOb9wu1ZwJTvFLUWr96HfDWXlxgtGTZrpYAaVCN8Xjr_BiSKyA2NtRDWvnoEpUSL74tB8YqJxhZAlOfrE_sWIcJt8KDH0YaH1TyjJlIrQoVfTjsk/s532/IMAG0647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNY5Rb0I539_AFnDaiILFbPk5z1AgnOb9wu1ZwJTvFLUWr96HfDWXlxgtGTZrpYAaVCN8Xjr_BiSKyA2NtRDWvnoEpUSL74tB8YqJxhZAlOfrE_sWIcJt8KDH0YaH1TyjJlIrQoVfTjsk/s400/IMAG0647.jpg" width="238" /></a></div> Shana explains: <blockquote class="tr_bq">The word 'always,' was the first tattoo I got. It's on my left-wrist, facing me. The song '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Always_(1925_song)">Always</a>,' by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Berlin">Irving Berlin</a>, was what my mother used to sing to us when we were sad as children. My sister got a similar tattoo and when my dad asked what my mother would have said, we both had to sheepishly grin because the answer was always 'Wait until I'm dead.'</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">I got it while I was studying abroad in China and visiting Hong Kong, a few months after she passed away. I wrote [the following] poem after visiting Tai Shan or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tai">Mount Tai</a>, one of the '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Sacred_Mountains">Five Sacred Mountains</a>' in China. According to Wikipedia 'it is associated with sunrise, birth, and renewal.' "</blockquote> My Journey of Over 6,000 Steps The best way to cure a cold is to climb up the tallest mountain you can find. Spot as many lucky birds, rest on every turn, and when a man offers to carry you—refuse. When you think you can't go any further, you will. Like the bird pacing the ground and shuffling dirt with his beak, you need patience. When you close a lock, throw the key down the mountainside, it can only make the bond stronger. Forget about food, or what you thought it was, question the safety of bottled water, watch old women climb faster than you, watch the clouds erase your time, the sun write it on the walls, the dry stones bleach. <div style="text-align: center;"> ~ ~ ~</div> Shana Wolstein has her MFA from <a href="http://www.wmich.edu/">Western Michigan University</a> in Kalamazoo, where she was the 2011 recipient of the Herb Scott Award for Excellence in Poetry. She has been published by <a href="http://www.thirdcoastmagazine.com/">Third Coast Magazine</a>, <a href="http://www.anomalouspress.org/">Anomalous Press</a>, <a href="http://www.hinchasdepoesia.com/">Hinchas de Poesia</a>, <a href="http://www.ovsmag.com/">OVS Magazine</a>, and more. Still in Kalamazoo, she works as Coordinator for the Prague Summer Program and Managing Editor of the academic journal <a href="http://www.wmich.edu/coe/spls/reading-horizons/index.htm">Reading Horizons</a>. Thanks to Shana for sharing her poem and tattoo with us here on Tattoosday! This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.  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: Shana Wolstein

Our penultimate tattooed poet is Shana Wolstein, who sent us this photo: Shana explains: The word 'always,' was the first tattoo I g...

12:02 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project : Joolz Denby

Our second tattooed poet today, <a href="http://www.joolzdenby.co.uk/">Joolz Denby</a>, hails from Great Britain. Not only is she a tattooed poet, she is a tattoo artist, as well, tattooing out of her shop, <a href="http://www.joolzdenby.co.uk/?page_id=16">Studio Bijoux</a>, in Bradford, UK. Joolz sent us this photo of one of her tattoos: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamL6yfHODTWG8VbygIwqsxW7RYl7_SZmygUWt1ZpMtYwT59rxhK769Ovfl1Q9H-fFBRMcS8KLfPgmCkhDMdSuXtU5w5Z5_GoBY147753QYYzirBedaIEBckKM4017J8J3spf_R_9PofU/s533/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamL6yfHODTWG8VbygIwqsxW7RYl7_SZmygUWt1ZpMtYwT59rxhK769Ovfl1Q9H-fFBRMcS8KLfPgmCkhDMdSuXtU5w5Z5_GoBY147753QYYzirBedaIEBckKM4017J8J3spf_R_9PofU/s640/photo.JPG" width="374" /></a></div> Joolz explains: <blockquote class="tr_bq">"This tattoo is from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas">Dylan Thomas</a> poem <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_not_go_gentle_into_that_good_night">Do Not Go Gentle</a> and it is a facsimile of my handwriting. It was done by one of my tattoo masters, Adam Dutton at<a href="http://lifetimetattoo.co.uk/"> Lifetime Tattoo</a> in Derby UK where I did my apprenticeship. I had it done in memory of my father, Captain Ron Mumford of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Light_Infantry">Highland Light Infantry</a> and the Territorial SAS. I loved and still love him very much indeed. He was a soldier, a scholar and a gentleman."  </blockquote>Here's Joolz performing a poem: You can also read and hear more of her work on her website <a href="http://www.joolz.net/">here</a>. We're honored to have Joolz contributing to the Tattooed Poets Project. As one can tell from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joolz_Denby">her wikipedia entry</a>, she's an accomplished figure in England both in poetry and tattoos. Thanks to Joolz for participating! This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission. 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 : Joolz Denby

Our second tattooed poet today, Joolz Denby , hails from Great Britain. Not only is she a tattooed poet, she is a tattoo artist, as well, t...

11:30 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project: Ali Jacs

On this, the penultimate day of our fourth annual Tattooed Poets Project, we will be featuring a pair of tattooed spoken word artists. First up is <a href="http://www.alijacs.com/">Ali Jacs</a>, who shared her tattoo in its sketch stage <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZKoHju9a8Y5Xj5HwoEJi58yr1xJ8WyJHEknCTN6l4qDz5g0SzraDpXVWOR36BmTqszAUAJW4hCzBTqTTwTLMCFLFLC8RrXvGhOyuZa0Lj9Br6M7wBsEle1GKNsYnibrhZx_me6HCtSE/s729/Ali_Jacs_tattoo_in_progress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZKoHju9a8Y5Xj5HwoEJi58yr1xJ8WyJHEknCTN6l4qDz5g0SzraDpXVWOR36BmTqszAUAJW4hCzBTqTTwTLMCFLFLC8RrXvGhOyuZa0Lj9Br6M7wBsEle1GKNsYnibrhZx_me6HCtSE/s400/Ali_Jacs_tattoo_in_progress.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and in its final state:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrWNAw5S_w947yMnoNjP-CViVOtEpcWOC-9OjntyUTWnhn1EWBp7ZzvKQ0EyJh11QW_I2wqyKIENzDglQtjTijbqn8rzlgJ_BBUinK0xnsLHluZ5kgXYxwQ-7uKgUvuqegk8UrBntQ40/s679/Ali_Jacs_tattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrWNAw5S_w947yMnoNjP-CViVOtEpcWOC-9OjntyUTWnhn1EWBp7ZzvKQ0EyJh11QW_I2wqyKIENzDglQtjTijbqn8rzlgJ_BBUinK0xnsLHluZ5kgXYxwQ-7uKgUvuqegk8UrBntQ40/s400/Ali_Jacs_tattoo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div>Ali explains: <blockquote class="tr_bq">"I got the ... tattoo in January 2010 after a bit of a dark yet very enlightening stage in my life ... The tattoo artist <a href="http://www.globusgallery.co.nz/globus_maori_tattoo_rotorua_New_Zealand/Tattoos.html">Elton Buchanan</a> is trained in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_culture">Maori</a> style of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Arawa">Te Arawa</a> tribe in New Zealand. There is fair bit of symbolism in this - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frangipani">frangipani</a> flower petals symbolize personal awakening, of which I did a fair amount in 2009! There are fish scales which symbolize the '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taniwha">taniwha</a>', or mythical Maori protector who dwells in the ocean, there is weaving to symbolize strength in family and friends and there are two <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manaia_(mythological_creature)">Manaia</a> - guardian spirits of the earth, sea and sky. Blending in some contemporary culture, there is a treble and bass clef to highlight my connection with music. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Which ties in quite well with my poem, which I've provided [below] ... most of my poetry these days is focused on performance poetry and this particular piece focuses on the music that we hear in every day occurrences and the sounds that bring this world alive." </blockquote>Here is the poem that Ali has shared: <div style="text-align: center;">  <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/66Z9tPVjVjI" width="500"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Ali Jacs is a performance poet from Wellington, New Zealand. After getting involved in the spoken word community in the Canadian prairies, Ali returned home to New Zealand in 2010. She won 2nd place in the 2011 <a href="http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2011/sep/titirangi/going-west-festival-2011-poetry-slam">Going West Writer’s Festival Poetry Slam</a> in Auckland and in October 2011, won 2nd place in New Zealand’s inaugural National Poetry Slam. Having travelled extensively across Canada and Europe, Ali’s poetry is inspired by people, landscapes and cultures encountered on the road, exploring themes of politics, sexuality, social and environmental justice and the madness of these crazy times. Ali runs the monthly performance poetry series <a href="http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2012/poetry-in-motion3/wellington">Poetry in Motion</a> in Wellington, New Zealand and has recently finished her first chapbook Romantic Pragmatism. You can also check her out on her new website <a href="http://www.alijacs.com/">www.alijacs.com</a>.  </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Thanks very much to Ali Jacs for her contribution to the Tattooed Poets Project!</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The tattoo is reprinted with the poet's permission. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">If you are reading this on another website 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.</div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Ali Jacs

On this, the penultimate day of our fourth annual Tattooed Poets Project, we will be featuring a pair of tattooed spoken word artists. First...

12:00 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project: Danielle Shutt

Our next tattooed poet is Danielle Shutt., who sent us two photos. First is a shot from right after she got inked in June 2007: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqL6KsPBRZETo3Rz50kyR2olYlieEE0L3wNiIARX23z1jjTuFPNQ1iWmNjd6mtMpz8lGP1OD7kwPVDrBz_uLh_GPq2yqMoZBOtYN7K7ZHOP_5Q__Kj2MAus1GKSrRWWBjyiTcDBez-yW0/s533/02.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqL6KsPBRZETo3Rz50kyR2olYlieEE0L3wNiIARX23z1jjTuFPNQ1iWmNjd6mtMpz8lGP1OD7kwPVDrBz_uLh_GPq2yqMoZBOtYN7K7ZHOP_5Q__Kj2MAus1GKSrRWWBjyiTcDBez-yW0/s400/02.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div> And then, a close-up of the tattoo: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4RekUVV4tE_OgUy_A0cveJyOVQQtBnrJurn7r4qTmgRaa7wTybE4lFF4LeHMfBdxWDWyLg1xf8GxGiJGxqJHan90Oj7yFNH9bz_kVGM-K9Fci7bQoohY3u7ZnkCZ9Qem8vBWsm2CR3E/s533/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4RekUVV4tE_OgUy_A0cveJyOVQQtBnrJurn7r4qTmgRaa7wTybE4lFF4LeHMfBdxWDWyLg1xf8GxGiJGxqJHan90Oj7yFNH9bz_kVGM-K9Fci7bQoohY3u7ZnkCZ9Qem8vBWsm2CR3E/s400/01.JPG" width="300" /></a></div> Danielle explains: <blockquote class="tr_bq">"My wrist tattoo came out of my own mindless notebook scribblings. It's two intertwined S's, representing my younger siblings' first names. We've been through a lot together. I got the tattoo when I was 23 and living in Richmond, VA. There was a particularly strong surge of family-related peril and tumult back then, and I found myself wanting something that would keep my brother and sister close to me--something less morbid than the black cloth bracelet I'd been wearing. I knew the drawing was exactly 'right,' but it took me a while to commit anyway. I'm the kind of person who needs to be bitten by impulse before I get my body involved in anything. (This includes dancing and doctor appointments.) In this case, a grande margarita and my friend Kristen did the trick. Kristen accompanied me to <a href="http://rctattoo.com/home.html">River City Tattoo</a>, where a nice guy named Reverend Bob tattooed the symbol on my wrist in less than three minutes. I was happy with it. I always will be. I get asked all the time about what the tattoo means, which is cool because I love talking about my sibs. I still think of the tattoo as a comfort, but more often these days it reminds me of my brother and sister's hard-fought survival, which in turn reminds me to stay strong, too."</blockquote>Danielle shares this poem, as well, which originally appeared in thINK, a letterpress book published by Bowe Street Press at <a href="http://www.vcu.edu/">Virginia Commonwealth University</a>: Sometimes I Have to Go Around Will’s Curb Barbed wire reached to scratch a warning at his window; or, the slaughter-cows flicked their tails like traffic guards, and in dusk a roadside tree flashed him old scars         to beg off new bruises. But really, there's nothing looking dead there. No car parts or patches of uprooted grass, none of his teeth half-ground into the pavement. The wooden stretch of new fence         isn't as stark as I'd expected. I guess he kept all the mess of it with him, smashed under his face, caulked behind his eyelids; or, it's in the red dirt and bone dust sent up by the tractor hitched to his lungs,         pulling slow on these back roads. <div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~ </div>Danielle Shutt completed her MFA in Creative Writing at <a href="http://www.ewu.edu/">Eastern Washington University</a> in Spokane, WA, where she taught writing courses and served as a poetry editor for <a href="http://willowsprings.ewu.edu/">Willow Springs</a>. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in <a href="http://www.asu.edu/piper/publications/haydensferryreview/">Hayden's Ferry Review</a>, <a href="http://www.redactions.com/">Redactions: Poetry & Poetics</a>, <a href="http://www.pankmagazine.com/">PANK</a>, <a href="http://www.copper-nickel.org/">Copper Nickel</a>, <a href="http://www.thediagram.com/">DIAGRAM</a>, and <a href="http://hotelamerika.net/">Hotel Amerika</a>. Thanks to Danielle for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday! This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.  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: Danielle Shutt

Our next tattooed poet is Danielle Shutt., who sent us two photos. First is a shot from right after she got inked in June 2007: And then, a ...

11:59 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project: Francesco Grisanzio

<div class="tr_bq">Every year I meet at least one of the poets featured on the Tattooed Poets Project. Francesco Grisanzio lives in New York and I got the chance to personally photograph his tattoos, which he offered up for us here on Tattoosday: </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzY4fCuTOldBoob6xWtoTjY9pptKR4VJtwz49BwS4sYil-N2vx4wUYHzuz5ojHPelEgar-gZTiqbTMXbMhddLdBRe-JLlvdUIfIlIxph8bKSeSOeJ92t36XKXsjFkzXqcD5BBzAsUem4/s533/IMG_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="533" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzY4fCuTOldBoob6xWtoTjY9pptKR4VJtwz49BwS4sYil-N2vx4wUYHzuz5ojHPelEgar-gZTiqbTMXbMhddLdBRe-JLlvdUIfIlIxph8bKSeSOeJ92t36XKXsjFkzXqcD5BBzAsUem4/s533/IMG_0207.JPG" width="525" /></a></div> Francesco explained: <blockquote>"My tattoos are of the characters from a comic strip I draw, or at least used to draw. <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GhYYIDOJPPXk9Zx7sHsLPTg3uteh_Qny8G_KE8QwV-8DAv7fqitXNH4ctNtOfnYWPu3kQp7OVxeRxIihbV1bLwcFT6e28lRT98HSkXoLMACYtb5LVnTGZBJAbpzYMEQ4O72atJkgVYE/s533/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GhYYIDOJPPXk9Zx7sHsLPTg3uteh_Qny8G_KE8QwV-8DAv7fqitXNH4ctNtOfnYWPu3kQp7OVxeRxIihbV1bLwcFT6e28lRT98HSkXoLMACYtb5LVnTGZBJAbpzYMEQ4O72atJkgVYE/s640/photo.jpg" width="234" /></a></div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">It's been a few years since I made a new strip. The comics haven't been published, but I did receive a great rejection letter from the paper at <a href="http://www.umass.edu/">UMass Amherst</a> when I was a student there.</blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYf-2Fy5sikk-PxjiC0QbaXa7jRPj0Yz-3306WMSHHrX0bYekuWUDmzUso2vJQidhnp_IyKkOwc-uAsvUljcHIA_gK4Um1x3aJEtqIvdaCUEUhA_pNb3PtREOsNTE__UrVwb_f5oMggI/s533/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYf-2Fy5sikk-PxjiC0QbaXa7jRPj0Yz-3306WMSHHrX0bYekuWUDmzUso2vJQidhnp_IyKkOwc-uAsvUljcHIA_gK4Um1x3aJEtqIvdaCUEUhA_pNb3PtREOsNTE__UrVwb_f5oMggI/s640/photo.jpg" width="270" /></a></div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">They said something along the lines of 'We love the art, but you know that this content is unpublishable. Clean it up and we'll talk.'</blockquote><blockquote>The tattoos were done in Woonsocket, RI at <a href="http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/American.Art.Tattoo.401-356-1193">American Art Tattoo</a>."</blockquote>Francesco offered up this poem: <div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">Teenage Heaven</div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">After Eddie Cochran</div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"> </div>The Coupe, phone, big city— freedom, Eddie, is what it boils down to. Sharp crew cut cardigan, our dearest son, patriot, toe tap child rebel against homework, enjoy the benefits of citizenship. You’ve earned it. Here’s three dollars. Have a swell weekend. We trust you not to make a mess. But it’s not just youthful ignorance or innocence where you choose to do what’s right on your own. We’ve been to the drive in show, seen peacock letterman, gorilla arm not content on headrest. How dare you chuckle.  She’s just a child. My God, Eddie, there’s nothing “little snack” about six hotdogs. That’s beyond ingestion.  Where will they all go? What are your intentions with our daughter? We know she’s beautiful, but show restraint. Little lady, you’re young.  This is heaven. You can run.  This is America. Please.  He’s an animal.  A beast. And, Eddie, we’re very disappointed in you. <div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Francesco Grisanzio is currently working on his MFA in poetry at The New School. He earned his BA in English from UMass Amherst. His work has appeared or will be appearing in <a href="http://www.wordriot.org/">Word Riot</a>, <a href="http://www.fawltmag.com/four/">Fawlt</a>, Why I Am Not a Painter, Strange Machine, and <a href="http://www.interrobangzine.com/">Interrobang!? Magazine</a>. Thanks to Francesco for his contribution to the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday! This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.  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.</div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Francesco Grisanzio

Every year I meet at least one of the poets featured on the Tattooed Poets Project. Francesco Grisanzio lives in New York and I got the chan...

11:54 PM

The Tattooed Poets Project: Julie Kantor

As we wind up the Tattooed Poets Project on this, the home stretch of April, we are double-posting to accommodate the record number of submissions we received this year. Our second tattooed poet of the day is Julie Kantor. Julie sent us these photos: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkro8JGicuyF5q5P_SqCC1fgbtZP50TA562MreM3SgJEYGxH5cYJxXdTC8lKrqRhfuz_nQ8odt0NRDavim2d7EUAMQRuP6wx35vd-VQE8xEYe-Qfz_vYoeObUBlNyySNiYaodfOo8gbg/s532/bum_friends_tattoo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkro8JGicuyF5q5P_SqCC1fgbtZP50TA562MreM3SgJEYGxH5cYJxXdTC8lKrqRhfuz_nQ8odt0NRDavim2d7EUAMQRuP6wx35vd-VQE8xEYe-Qfz_vYoeObUBlNyySNiYaodfOo8gbg/s640/bum_friends_tattoo.JPG" width="406" /></a></div> Julie explains: <blockquote class="tr_bq">"It was a very early morning in Portland, OR. I picked up my best friend, Jess, to get breakfast. On the way to the cafe, we saw two guys, each had a shopping cart packed to the brim. They were laughing with each other, smiling these huge smiles. Jess turned to me and said, 'If we were bums, we would still be best friends. Bum friends.' I suggested, strongly, that we get matching shopping cart tattoos. After breakfast we found this small tattoo shop with no name off <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Glisan">Glisan</a> that just opened. Inside, we made a deal with the shop's very green apprentice to do both tattoos for $40. The 'bf' in the tattoos stands for bum friends." </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg91-QD6rc8GQqXhm1D41cKdvW562CU_sfcMXcPq0JfgdSNF1NL2-uaE2WfG7XIDiLJ6naP1MXma-1lcNcpjhniXiBR3HcIGCPMI4csZ-74S5Nad0TPZuNGDFyvSdbaiyRwg6eA-n5b8lc/s0-d/bum_friends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg91-QD6rc8GQqXhm1D41cKdvW562CU_sfcMXcPq0JfgdSNF1NL2-uaE2WfG7XIDiLJ6naP1MXma-1lcNcpjhniXiBR3HcIGCPMI4csZ-74S5Nad0TPZuNGDFyvSdbaiyRwg6eA-n5b8lc/s0-d/bum_friends.jpg" /></a></div> Here is one of Julie's poems: From the series: Land  12) Waters flush north under concrete & steel, rods down planted, now dry cracks through road we drive over, see red lines run lengthen out from sky blue & darkening, say “let's trace this back to where the sun doesn't even want us w/it,” beam bridge can't take us across all the way w/out drop before we stand safely or span the land’s end to its own mirrored opposite. Those could be our feet on the ground, but we ride this straight across the dividing line where trains’ tracks alongside plains lead away from & hear the river call us down, would one body’s dead weight be enough to pull us into, first think we tie our- selves w/knots we won't learn the names of, but tangle is thick w/width, & water's feel enough for loss of, & if we can’t sustain w/just us then we shouldn’t have to begin with. <div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>Julie Kantor just completed her first manuscript, the currently unpublished, The Beautiful West. She is a M.F.A. candidate in poetry at <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a> where she teaches in the Undergraduate Writing Program. She is also a musician and plays in the new band, Cycles. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. Thanks to Julie for sharing her poem and tattoo with us here on Tattoosday! This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.  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: Julie Kantor

As we wind up the Tattooed Poets Project on this, the home stretch of April, we are double-posting to accommodate the record number of submi...

11:58 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project - Heather Truett

Up next on the Tattooed Poets Project is <a href="http://madamerubieswrites.blogspot.com/">Heather Truett</a>, who sent us this photo: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfDHhQhECwEKiMfzVHGSPp7MyS3uLozRdGUszzVzYb46CusZ-MpDGZk2DnNYybaN2l1-IBIjRirox05YpuVzCF2GRK9GOJEnREmQk3ZP8F0tFBGamZ3pY_8RoNadlA-Asfd5J2KpU2E8/s800/DSCN0376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfDHhQhECwEKiMfzVHGSPp7MyS3uLozRdGUszzVzYb46CusZ-MpDGZk2DnNYybaN2l1-IBIjRirox05YpuVzCF2GRK9GOJEnREmQk3ZP8F0tFBGamZ3pY_8RoNadlA-Asfd5J2KpU2E8/s400/DSCN0376.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> along with a shot of the tattooist at work: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-gEHi4XzKwlvfu-E5TcMft9mJEjn3Uc9ioWQuWJEwyk3izkvtoUgk1LqM-9Ch82IsZtigVNRYTiTz6fvvUaM8ykiVGtpv1uA1BKFZ4xwknIXAXP5SzSaxuEg9syGFpJoc56d1Leyjl8/s0-d/DSCN0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-gEHi4XzKwlvfu-E5TcMft9mJEjn3Uc9ioWQuWJEwyk3izkvtoUgk1LqM-9Ch82IsZtigVNRYTiTz6fvvUaM8ykiVGtpv1uA1BKFZ4xwknIXAXP5SzSaxuEg9syGFpJoc56d1Leyjl8/s0-d/DSCN0375.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> These may appear as three seemingly simple Hebrew letters, but there is more to this piece than just a Hebrew word, as Heather elaborates: <blockquote>“The tattoo was a 27th birthday gift from a girlfriend I have known since I was 6 and she was 3. We went together. She got a Latin phrase in a beautiful script and I chose this. I had been planning a tattoo to somehow commemorate a friend who died and my own battle with depression. The verse in scripture that speaks most to me is <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+61%3A3&version=NIV">Isaiah 61:3</a>, which includes the phrase ‘beauty for ashes.’ The girl I wanted to commemorate, Natalie, also loved the verse. On a whim, I looked the verse up in Hebrew. I always love following a verse back to its origin and trying to understand what the words actually meant to the writer, rather than placing all trust in modern translation. When I realized the Hebrew word used to mean beauty in that verse actually means, ‘a crown of beauty,’ as in, a young girl being crowned queen and given honor and status in society, I knew I had my tattoo. </blockquote><blockquote>You see, every year, on the anniversary of the day Natalie died, her friends around the world don tiaras and wear them wherever they go. We paint our toenails purple, as she loved to do, and we drink a Diet Coke in her honor. There are other rituals, but these are the big three. To find the word ‘crown’ hidden there in my verse left me in tears, good tears, the kind of crying you do when someone at last understands exactly who you are and what you mean to them. I printed and double-checked the Hebrew lettering and took it with me to <a href="http://www.myspace.com/devinestreettattoo">Devine Street Tattoo</a> on a visit to Columbia, SC. It's not fancy, just three letters. But those three letters say so much to me every time I look at them. I placed the word on the inside of my left ankle, so when I look down or cross my legs, I see the tattoo. I don't mind showing it to other people, and I love telling how I chose it and why I got it, but it is, ultimately, for me and me alone, so I wanted it in a place easy for me to see."</blockquote>By way of a poem, Heather submitted this: My Brother is the Poem My brother is the poem that exists, still busily writing itself in the hills of my hometown. He leaves for work, welding in leather and heat and without a single complaint, because, hell! He needs the job. He strings out verse and stanza, tripping over the meter on seventy acres of God's creation. Don't let them mine you too, Big Brother. It's with rhythm and flow that he pays the bills and loves the wife and suffers the pain of parenthood that stabs with its cliche sword, double-edged. Who knew? Who predicted snowflakes and razorblades? My brother, cigarette lit and smoke circling, is the poetry falling to earth, right there, in Eastern Kentucky, while I only call myself a poet, writing in the air conditioned suburb, pretending I got out, when I never did, not really, anyhow. Years pass and miles unroll like so much butcher paper down the holler, but my body still grows roots back home, there, in Nat's Creek, Daniel's Creek, Homer's trailer, white house with black shutters, minnow fishing, snake killing, coal mining with the black lung, family and the most Primitive of Baptist churches, where my soul gets fed, and only then can the poem grow branches. <div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div>  Heather Truett describes herself as “Hill-born, a coal miner's granddaughter, a brilliant spark of brain with a wee bit of crazy thrown in for good measure, a writer, a poet, a wife in the bizarre world of the church, wearer of silver tiaras and painter of purple toenails, I am me. I have published poetry, essays and articles in the past. My credits include: <a href="http://www.themomegg.com/themomegg/Home.html">The Mom Egg</a>, <a href="http://www.paintsvilleherald.com/">The Paintsville Herald</a>, <a href="http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/">Jackson Free Press</a>, Slugfest Ltd, Abundance Press, <a href="http://www.invitationtupelo.com/">The Invitation Tupelo</a>, <a href="http://www.busyparentsonline.com/index.htm">Busy Parents Online</a>, Mommy Tales, Just For Mom and other publications (more info available on my website, www.madamerubies.com). I am currently a homeschooling Mom to a special needs child and the wife of a youth minister in Tupelo, Mississippi. I have taught poetry workshops in schools and for the homeschool co-op we participate in each semester.” You can also check out her website, <a href="http://madamerubieswrites.blogspot.com/">madamerubieswrites.blogspot.com</a>. Thanks to Heather for her contribution to the Tattooed Poets Project! This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.  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 - Heather Truett

Up next on the Tattooed Poets Project is Heather Truett , who sent us this photo: along with a shot of the tattooist at work: These may appe...

12:19 AM