Thursday, October 22, 2009

Literary Tattoos

“A quote is just a tattoo on the tongue.” - William F. DeVault

I’m excited and in a lighthearted mood because I leave for the Florida Writers Association Conference at Lake Mary today. I thought I’d do a fun post to match my mood.

Although I’m not quite sure what the above quote really means, I’m confident that it is the only type of tattoo I’ll have in this lifetime. I have nothing against tattoos, I simply try to avoid any sort of pain at all costs. However, when I ran across Kimbooktu's blog (I swear I don’t know how I found it) on Bookish Tattoos, I couldn’t resist. I had to stop and take a peek.



Stop by Kimbooktu to see other examples. Even if you are not interested in tattoos, you may enjoy the site because it features bookish gadgets, such as bookholders, adorable Library Dogs, or great looking book ends.

That’s not the only site for literary tattoos. At yuppiepunk.org. you'll find "A (Not So) Complete History of Literary Tattoos," including excerpts from Dickens and Plath and pictures of Alice in Wonderland and the Little Prince. Drop by contrariwise.org for some incredible, colorful tattoos of scenes from Where the Wild Things Are.

I enjoy a lot of things in life, but I don’t need to be reminded of what they are by having their imprint on some body part. Evidently, however, lots of people are into this type of thing.

Do you have a literary tattoo? If not, would you consider getting one? What literary tattoo would you want?

Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: DeVault, tattoos, literary tattoos, Dickens, The Little Prince, Alice in Wonderlandt, Where the Wild Things Are, Plath,

14 comments:

Michelle Stockard Miller said...

I have been planning on getting my third tattoo for several years now and I'm glad I waited because I now know that I will be getting something literary/bookish...either on the inside of one (or both) of my wrists and/or on the back of my neck. Just have not come up with a design yet...or the money...LOL! Thanks for posting those sites because they will serve as some inspiration for me!

Best,
Michelle

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Like you, I'm into pain or tattoos.
LOL - wonder what some of those literary tattoos will look like when the wearer is old and wrinkled. A tad illegible I'd say!

Helen Ginger said...

I don't have a tattoo and wouldn't get one (pain and the permanency), but they are interesting. Just the idea that someone at some point in their life so loved a particular book that they permanently honored it on their body. My tastes change over the years.

Helen
Straight From Hel

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

So funny...tattoos were really big for the group of peers 5 years older than me (in their early 40s now) and the group of peers 5 years younger than me (now in their early 30s.) Not my group! But every time I go to the pool in the summer, I see the incredible number of people with tattoos! Unbelievable. They're really pretty, frequently. But not, I don't think, as we get older...

Thanks for the links, Jane! I'm going to check them out. I need some book ends....

Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder

Joanne said...

I knew tatoos were in vogue right now, but wow! Literary tatoos. Did you know you can also buy "tatoo" sleeves? I guess it's some type of tatoo'd fabric you pull onto your arms, and gives the appearance you actually have the tatoos.

Marvin D Wilson said...

Nah I'll never get a tattoo, BUT - literary tattoos would make the best sense if you're going to have one. Maybe something from the timeless classics - so they don't lose their meaning like the stupid ones that say "I love Mary Forever" all across your butt decades after you and Mary have broken up! LOL

the Old Silly

Carol Kilgore said...

You're a busy woman. Have fun at the conference. I'm not into pain either.

Elspeth Futcher said...

No tatoos for me. Why? I have a massive fear of needles. Also, tastes change and a tatoo is forever. If I want literary quotes I'll stencil them on a wall somewhere; re-painting isn't a problem.

Elspeth

Anonymous said...

I'll probably never get a tattoo because 1)I hate needles and 2)I can't find a tattoo artist whose work I actually think is superb, but I gotta admit that Matilda tattoo is pretty rad.

Nancy J. Parra said...

Hi- thanks for sharing the fun tattoos- Have a good time at your conference.

Patricia Stoltey said...

You're talking about real tattoos? The kind where real needles poke little inky holes in your skin and it lasts forever unless you have it sandpapered off? Oh, big OUCH!

No, but I'd go for one of those fake ones...

Tamika: said...

No tattoo for me. I try and stay on the opposite side of the highway of Pain.

Have fun at your conference, I look forward to hearing all about it.

joe doaks-Author said...

I saw a special about tattoos on the History Channel just yesterday. Learn lots...mostly learned I for sure dont't want one. There was a segment about how to have them removed with a laser. Looked expensive and painful.

Best Wishes, Galen

Unknown said...

I have the final sentence of David Foster Wallace’s, Infinite Jest on my right, inner forearm. The tattoo, along with the story behind it can be found here:

http://www.contrariwise.org/2009/08/15/infinite-jest/

I’m planning a second tattoo on my left forearm, this one will be a quote from Cormac McCarthy’s, All the Pretty Horses:

He thought the world’s heart beat at some terrible cost and that the world’s pain and its beauty moved in a relationship of diverging equity and that in this headlong deficit the blood of multitudes might ultimately be exacted for the vision of a single flower.

The “single flower” is a reference to my daughter, Lily.

Jane's Ride - Novelist Jane Kennedy Sutton's journey through the ups and downs of the writing, publishing and marketing world