Literary Tattoos

[Paul Whybrow]

This article, in Book Riot, made me consider what literary tattoos I'd choose.

Bookish Temporary Tattoos That Have Us Craving More Ink

I don't have any ink on my skin—after all, why interrupt perfection?

All the same, there are some illustrations from classic novels, as well as pithy quotes that would serve as inspirational tattoos. I like Kenneth Graham's The Wind In The Willows which is discounted as a children's book but has much to say about friendship, conservation, the importance of home and man's ridiculous obsessions.

My favourite illustrator of Graham's story is Ernest H. Shepherd, who also illustrated the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

In this drawing Ratty introduces Mole to the joys of river life:

Do any of you already have tattoos? Perhaps with a literary theme...

Which pictures or sayings would you choose?

 

[Matnov]

Not a tattoo fan either (I have told my daughter that one of the few things she could ever do that would truly break my heart is have a tattoo done) but in terms of a literary offering, then it would have to be this...

Unus post alterum sermo

Obviously the Latin would prove incorrect and naturally it would be all done in a flowery Gothic type font (do tattoos have fonts?) but for me it sums up the craft in its purest form.

 

[Boopadoo]

Mine's sort of literary - it's a reproduction of Albrecht Dürer's "St. Michael Fighting the Dragon" from his "Apocalypse" series, on my right bicep. I got it based on the artistic aesthetic and the concept being badass, not necessarily for any religious reasons. But, if we count the Bible as literary...

I do have plans to get "Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show" done old-time poster style on my left bicep (big fan of Bradbury). That's definitely literary. An "angel on my right shoulder, devil on my left" sort of thing...

 

[Patricia D]

This old lady remains baffled by young people who inject ink into their beautiful smooth skin, but temporary tattoos could be fun. Mine would show a dolphin saying, "So long and thanks for all the fish."

 

[Patricia D]

This article, in Book Riot, made me consider what literary tattoos I'd choose.

Bookish Temporary Tattoos That Have Us Craving More Ink

I don't have any ink on my skin—after all, why interrupt perfection?

All the same, there are some illustrations from classic novels, as well as pithy quotes that would serve as inspirational tattoos. I like Kenneth Graham's The Wind In The Willows which is discounted as a children's book but has much to say about friendship, conservation, the importance of home and man's ridiculous obsessions.

My favourite illustrator of Graham's story is Ernest H. Shepherd, who also illustrated the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

In this drawing Ratty introduces Mole to the joys of river life:

Do any of you already have tattoos? Perhaps with a literary theme...

Which pictures or sayings would you choose?

Thank you for reminding me of a book I loved and my children loved. I'm about to go order a copy for my youngest grandkids With the Ernest Shepherd illustrations because I want the little beasts to appreciate art as well as literature.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Other people's tattoos don't bother me, but given that the only thing I'm afraid of is needles, there's no way I'd ever be able to get one. Even thinking about getting one makes me feel faint. If I could manage a tattoo, I'm afraid I wouldn't go for anything literary--it would have to be bugs. At the core, I'm just an entogeek. (I was thrilled a couple of years ago when I had a growth removed from my face, and the resulting scar looked like a stick insect. It has faded since then, and the legs and antennae are mostly gone now...)

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Could be seen as inspirational:

Maybe going just a bit too far....

 

[Paul Whybrow]

There's some serious commitment to inking the thoughts of Kurt Vonnegut onto skin shown in this article:

Guess Which Kurt Vonnegut Tattoo is By Far the Most Common?

Another of Vonnegut's most famous observations doesn't appear, but, I guess that it would need a defiant transvestite hermaphrodite writer to get away with having a semicolon as a tattooed comment on punctuation, adorning their body—and where would it be located?!

“Here is a lesson in creative writing. The first rule: do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.”

Kurt Vonnegut
(from A Man without a Country)

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[Katie-Ellen]

Semi-colons represent pausing, pacing and collation. But I'm not getting a tattoo to say so. Not even a temporary one.

 

[Amber]

The Pillow Book

 

[Tim James]

“Here is a lesson in creative writing. The first rule: do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.”

I actually like semi-colons and used in the right way they are near indispensable.

Semi-colons represent pausing, pacing and collation....

Wot she wrote.

 

[Tim James]

I haven't got any tattoos, but if i did it might be something like "Bad spellers of the world, untie. You have nothing to loose but your chins."

 

[David Weller]

I actually like semi-colons and used in the right way they are near indispensable.

Wot she wrote.

I always liken a semi-colon to a bidet. I recognise one when I see it, but don't necessarily know how to use it.

 

[Tim James]

I always liken a semi-colon to a bidet. I recognise one when I see it, but don't necessarily know how to use it.

Read Strunk and White's, The Elements of Style. It'll tell you everything you need to know in a concise easy to read manner.

 

[Deleted member 604]

I have tattoos, but only little, feminine ones and they are not literate ones.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Shakespeare's words are also stolen to adorn the human body:

15 of the Best Shakespeare Tattoos

Are there any literary quotes that you'd consider having as a tattoo? I might go with Charles Bukowski's advice:

Wherever the crowd goes run in the other direction. They're always wrong.

Projecting into your future fame as a writer, have you written anything that's worthy of being inked on an adoring reader's skin?

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[Tim James]

Are there any literary quotes that you'd consider having as a tattoo?

I think "Mostly Harmless" would be quite good as a tattoo.

 

[Marc Joan]

The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book looks fiendishly complex, plot-wise. Is it readable?

 

[Amber]

The Pillow Book looks fiendishly complex, plot-wise. Is it readable?

I can't say the plot is straightforward or anything like that, the movie certainly wasn't. I haven't read the book. I saw the movie on Bravo back when Bravo showed independent movies instead of women fighting over bridal gowns. Whenever people bring up tattoos I think of the movie. Or film. I imagine it's a film. The idea of lovers writing on one another's body is interesting in many different ways. I saw it over 15 years ago and so ...

I would like to see it again but apparently not enough to hunt up a copy.

 

[Charles Ott]

Any of the Joe Mugnaini illustrations from Bradbury's October Country.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

That's super.