5Mar/0911
Everything was beautiful…
This tattoo was submitted by Amy:
My tattoo is from Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, and it says "everything was beautiful and nothing hurt." My friend, whom I've known for 22 of my 25 years, wrote this in her own handwriting for me.
I chose Kurt Vonnegut because he is the most inspirational writer I've ever read, and I made it a mission to read everything he's ever written. He is so prolific I think I'll always be finding more and more tidbits of his to read, but after I read all of his novels in chronological order, and then all of his collections of short stories and essays in chronological order (a total of more than 20 books) I decided to celebrate and commemorate my accomplishment with a tattoo.I chose this quote for two reasons: Because it's so iconically Kurt Vonnegut, and because the duality of it is so simple but so meaningful -- it's ironic and pessimistic, or it's straightforward and optimistic, depending on how you read it, or on how you want to read it. It's a stunning example of the whole of Kurt Vonnegut's work.
Follow Contrariwise
March 5th, 2009 - 17:48
The placement is kind of… odd.
March 6th, 2009 - 16:53
you're kind of… odd.
March 6th, 2009 - 19:28
What font is that? It's beautiful.
March 6th, 2009 - 21:15
Oh, clever, Amy.
Anyway, I mean that it seems like it was just plopped down without any thought to making it work with the flow of your body.
March 27th, 2009 - 10:58
that was pretty dumb of you…
March 31st, 2009 - 06:54
I'm the one with this tattoo — the other Amy who was posting is not me!
Just wanted to tell Holly it's not a font, it's my friend's handwriting. Ya know, like I said in my description of the tattoo … but it is beautiful, that's for sure.
November 29th, 2009 - 23:31
its visually stunning because it doesnt flow with the lines of her body.
somehow it adds to the depth of the tattoo.
April 5th, 2010 - 12:39
i agree with iyah. it's beautiful.
July 8th, 2010 - 08:34
Love it! I'm getting the very same quote on my calf. (on my leg, not a baby cow)
Vonnegut is one person I would have loved to meet!
September 13th, 2010 - 20:02
The placement is kind of…perfect! Love the whole tat – words, font, placement… Excellent!
December 27th, 2010 - 01:30
I absolutely love this tattoo. Thanks to this post, I am now hoping to get a tattoo in that same place, it just looks so stunning ! And being in your friend's handwriting makes it even more symbolic. Beautiful quote as well, of course. Well done !