The Word Made Flesh

The Word Made Flesh

This is my third tattoo and my first literary tattoos. They are the stars from the corners of each page of the Harry Potter books.

This is my third tattoo and my first literary tattoos. They are the stars from the corners of each page of the Harry Potter books.

To be busy is man’s only happiness.

“

—	Mark Twain

“If you’re a bird I’m a bird.” - The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
My second tattoo, down the side of my spine.

“If you’re a bird I’m a bird.” - The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

My second tattoo, down the side of my spine.

Flannery O’Connor feathers and quote. Over my heart, as I am a Southern writer with a penchant for the odd, and carry that with me always.

Flannery O’Connor feathers and quote. Over my heart, as I am a Southern writer with a penchant for the odd, and carry that with me always.

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.

“

—

Thoreau

`Love conquers all, let us too yield to love´-Virgil
The classical latin poem, the Aeneid, was transcribed by vikings into old western norse. The quote you see on my arm was uncovered by archeologists in Norway after an old village burnt down.It suggests that not all viking were mindless thugs and pirates. I love the quote and like to pretend i´m a viking so it is perfect for me.

`Love conquers all, let us too yield to love´-Virgil

The classical latin poem, the Aeneid, was transcribed by vikings into old western norse. The quote you see on my arm was uncovered by archeologists in Norway after an old village burnt down.It suggests that not all viking were mindless thugs and pirates. I love the quote and like to pretend i´m a viking so it is perfect for me.

this is my cousin’s cool Dr. Suess tattoo

this is my cousin’s cool Dr. Suess tattoo

Art is not only the desire to tell one’s secret; it is the desire to tell it and hide it at the same time.

“

—	Thornton Wilder

I am… I am… I am…

I have this ecg heartbeat with I am in a single continuous line around my ankle.
This was based on a quote from Sylvia Plaths ‘The Bell Jar’. I am also a 19 year old female student suffering with mental health problems and suicide attempts and to me this said that I have got this far, I’m living right now, and I will carry on. As long as this tattoo reads ‘I am’, then it is correct.

I am… I am… I am…

I have this ecg heartbeat with I am in a single continuous line around my ankle.
This was based on a quote from Sylvia Plaths ‘The Bell Jar’. I am also a 19 year old female student suffering with mental health problems and suicide attempts and to me this said that I have got this far, I’m living right now, and I will carry on. As long as this tattoo reads ‘I am’, then it is correct.

A quote, said by Puck, in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

A quote, said by Puck, in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

If I got rid of my demons, I’d lose my angels.

“

—	Tennessee Williams (via somelittlejoy)

The Library of Congress call number for J.D. Salinger

The Library of Congress call number for J.D. Salinger

Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.

“

—	The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (via amillionlittlequotes)

“Francois Rabelais. He was a poet. And his last words were “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” That’s why I’m going. So I don’t have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps.”

“Francois Rabelais. He was a poet. And his last words were “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” That’s why I’m going. So I don’t have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps.”

The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide

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About the book:

The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide is a guide to the emerging subculture of literary tattoos — a collection of 100 full-color photographs of human skin indelibly adorned with quotations and images from Pynchon to Dickinson to Shakespeare to Plath. Packed with beloved lines of verse, literary portraits, and illustrations — and statements from the bearers on their tattoos’ history and the personal significance of the chosen literary work — The Word Made Flesh is part photo collection, part literary anthology written on skin.

Special features include a reprint of a short story by Donald Barthelme (along with the tattoo it inspired on the author's daughter), an interview with Brian Evenson about seeing his own work tattooed on someone else, Shelley Jackson's SKIN Project and Rick Moody's Shelley Jackson tattoo, Jonathan Lethem's homage to Philip K. Dick, Tao Lin's Tao Lin tattoo, and more.

Media highlights:

Feature in The New York Times Sunday Book Review; Listing in The New York Times Holiday Gift Guide; Interview and online slideshow in NPR’s “On Point” with Tom Ashbrook and "To the Best of Our Knowledge" with Steve Paulson; Article in the New Yorker's Book Bench blog (reposted on The Daily Dish); Feature article and slideshow in The Huffington Post; Feature in the August/September issue of Shelf Unbound, Interview and photo gallery in The Daily Beast; Feature article in the Boston Phoenix; Brief article about book trailer in the Observer.com; Link in Boing Boing's 2011 Holiday Gift Guide; Feature article in Interview Magazine; Interview and slideshow in Paper; Feature article in NBCNewYork.com; Article and slideshow in AOL News; Feature article on NYPost.com and the Brooklyn Paper; Article about book trailer in New York Magazine.com; Interview in the Miami New Times.com; Interview in Mediabistro's GalleyCat; Interview in The L Magazine; Interview in the Examiner.com; Feature article in Canada.com; Article about book trailer in PW.com; Feature article in Ink Butter; Brief article about book trailer in BlackBookMag.com; Brief article about book proposal in USAToday.com; Article about book proposal in Forbes.com.

About the editors:

Eva Talmadge's fiction has appeared in Subtropics, The New York Tyrant, The Agriculture Reader, The New Orleans Review, and elsewhere. She's the sole editor of this blog; comments or complaints should be directed to her at evatalmadge.net.

Justin Taylor is the author of The Gospel of Anarchy and Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever. He also edited The Apocalypse Reader, an anthology of short fiction about the end of the world. Visit him at justindtaylor.net.

Got a literary tattoo? Click here to submit it to the blog. But first, please make sure your pic is in focus, and, please, please, please do not send pictures with blood in them. Thanks.

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