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Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos

The original literary tattoo blog! Over 600 tattoos from books, poetry, music, and other sources.

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So it Goes #96, 97, 98

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so it goes 96

This belongs to Alaina.

This is my first tattoo. I actually waited until I was 30 to get it, and I am glad that I did. I love Slaughterhouse-Five, and use this quote as a constant reminder not to dwell on things that I cannot control. As a teacher, it has started more than one conversation with students that didn’t necessarily trust authority figures and wanted someone that could relate to them, however small a degree.

This was posted as a part of â€œSo it Goes” Saturdays. The phrase “so it goes” appears in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five 106 times. Can you help me collect 106 “so it goes” tattoos? 95 down, 11 to go.

So it Goes #93, 94, 95

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so it goes 93

This belongs to Emily T.

The font was somewhat custom, a mix of two or three Microsoft Word fonts.

I’ve read Slaughterhouse-Five countless times over the last few years; it always reads a different way. Each time I get a different insight, a new understanding of the book. There’s too many feelings to express what Vonnegut sums up in three words; So it goes.

“And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.

So she was turned to a pillar of salt. So it goes.”

so it goes 94

This belongs to Erika.

This is the ‘Slaughterhouse-Five‘ tattoo I got just after graduating from uni. I was introduced to the book in my first week and the repetition of the line throughout it really stuck with me even when many of the others in my class found it an insensitive reaction to the tragedies in the story. Long story short, I had a hard time at uni, I didn’t make friends and slowly got more separated from the ones I did have. At its core I’ve always thought ‘so it goes’ is a lamentation on and an acceptance of the bad, while understanding things were good once and will be good again. I figured it was a fitting goodbye to 4 years that were really hard and I wouldn’t change, but was happy to leave behind.

so it goes 95

This belongs to Josh.

I just got this yesterday [ed. note: submitted April 2013] and was comparing to other people with the same tattoo. My name is Josh Howell, and I’m a professor in Norfolk, VA! This is on my left arm.

This was posted as a part of “So it Goes” Saturdays. The phrase “so it goes” appears in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five 106 times. Can you help me collect 106 “so it goes” tattoos? 95 down, 11 to go.

So it Goes #90, 91, 92

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so it goes 90 2 so it goes 90

This belongs to Jecy.

So it goes: life is an endless cycle not excluding death and moving on. No losses are irrevocable: in the past, the present and the future, life will remain in existence. And in life, love will always be there.

so it goes 91

This belongs to Clarisse.

I got this tattoo on my ribs in white ink in the font American Typewriter.
This was my first tattoo and probably the only quote i will ever have on my body. It’s a much more eloquent reminder that shit happens and life goes on and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it besides keep on living.

so it goes 92

This belongs to Taylor from New York.

For my eighteenth birthday.

This was posted as a part of â€œSo it Goes” Saturdays. The phrase “so it goes” appears in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five 106 times. Can you help me collect 106 “so it goes” tattoos? 92 down, 14 to go.

The world was hers to read.

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This tattoo belongs to LeAnn.

The line is, “The world was hers for the reading.” I decided to change it and create a little of my own, “The world was hers to read.” I did it in medium typewriter font.

I am in grad school to be a librarian and this means two things to me.  One, when I read I have the whole world at my fingertips… I can learn or hear, understand anything. And the world is full of things for me to read… long dead people for me to meet.

the world was hers to read tattoo

“From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours. There would be love stories when she came into adolescence and when she wanted to feel a closeness to someone she could read a biography. On that day when she first knew she could read, she made a vow to read one book a day as long as she lived.”

– Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

So it Goes #87, 88, 89

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so it goes 87

This belongs to Arija.

“So it goes” and Tralfamadorian as described in Slaughterhouse-Five. I plan to get one on the opposite ankle of Saturn and its moon Titan along with an eye from the cover of The Sirens of Titan.

so it goes 88

This belongs to Autumn A.

The first square is my first attempt to capture what I wanted for my tattoo. The remaining three shows the cover-up that I now love. It was done by Amber Anderson at Brave New World Tattoo in Upland, and she did such an excellent job at turning my idea into reality. It is our rendition of a Tralfamadorian ship, with a banner trailing behind. Like many others, “so it goes” means so much to me. It has become my mantra in the face of loss, tragedy, and hurt, but it also reminds me to enjoy the sweeter moments with more appreciation and thoughtfulness.

so it goes 89

This belongs to Courtney.

I had no idea that anyone else had this tattoo and then I stumbled across this website. You have So it Goes Saturdays!! Haha. None of my friends or family are big readers so everyone thought it was a dumb tattoo..or didn’t get it. It’s nice to know I kinda have a whole army of people that fell in love with this wonderful piece of literature the way I did.

I plan on getting a few more tattoos, all literary. My only non literary tattoo is “Let it Be” Gotta rep my Beatles :)

It’s done in white ink which would be why it’s difficult to see on my pale skin.

This was posted as a part of “So it Goes” Saturdays. The phrase “so it goes” appears in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five 106 times. Can you help me collect 106 “so it goes” tattoos? 89 down, 17 to go.

“Rien n’est parfait,” soupira le renard.

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le petit prince tattoo

This tattoo belongs to Marillia from Brazil.

It’s a quote from “Le Petit Prince“.
It says, in french: “Nobody is perfect”, sighed the fox.

I had the tattoo done on my right wrist, facing me, so when I’m dealing with people that frustrate me and make me feel depressed I can just look at my tattoo and let its meaning sink in.

The Dark Tower

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stephen king dark tower tattoo 2 stephen king dark tower tattoo

This tattoo belongs to Michelle.

This tattoo is from Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Series. The images and quotes are from various books in the series. I chose these quotes, because of how beautiful I find Stephen King’s writing to be.

“The mild, spicy smell of old books hit him, and the smell was somehow like coming home”

“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”

The quote is in typewriter font.