Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos

“Mischief managed.”

- from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

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“To die will be an awfully big adventure.”

- from Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

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This tattoo belongs to Donna:

The tattoo is written in Sindarin using Tengwar (Tengwar Parmaite font) and reads:
Eru cân vanadh nîn
‘God commands my destiny’

- From The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

(source)

“I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart: I am, I am, I am.”

- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

“Consummatum est: this bill is ended,
And Faustus hath bequeathed his soul to Lucifer.
But what is this inscription on mine arm?
Homo fuge! Whither should I fly?
If unto God, he’ll throw me down to hell.
My senses are deceived; here’s nothing writ:
I see it plain, here in this place is writ,
Homo fuge! Yet shall not Faustus fly.”

- Faustus in The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

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From The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss.

(unknown source - email me)

“The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”

- Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance

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“Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.”

- Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

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“Resistance is the secret of joy.”

- Alice Walker, Possessing the Secret of Joy

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Submitted by Janet:

Since I dislike the text the tattoo artist used (looks like a USDA stamp to me), the tat is going to be edited. A circle of blue fire will cover the original text and the words, “Mischief Managed” will be appear at the top of the tat.

“Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present the Marauder’s Map.”
“I solemnly swear I am up to no good.”
George: Oh, and Harry, don’t forget. When you’re done, just give it a tap and say…
George & Fred: “Mischief Managed.” Otherwise anyone can read it.

From Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.

“So it goes.”

- Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

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“If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human stupidity; and I would climb to the top of Mount McCabe and lie down on my back with my history for a pillow; and I would take from the ground some of the blue-white poison that makes statues of men; and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who.”

- Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

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“Wherever love is, I want to be, I will follow it as surely as the land-locked salmon finds the sea.”

- Jeanette Winterson, The Passion

The tattoo’s owner says:

“Love is something about which I have spent a long time musing and thinking. Why else would we be here, other than love? I get a lot of comments on this tattoo. The sentiment really fits me, because love is my guiding force.”

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Text from Neuromancer by William Gibson.

See more pictures here.

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“And the tree was happy.”

- The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Carl Solomon! I’m with you in Rockland
where you’re madder than I am
I’m with you in Rockland
where you must feel very strange
I’m with you in Rockland
where you imitate the shade of my mother
I’m with you in Rockland
where you’ve murdered your twelve secretaries
I’m with you in Rockland
where you laugh at this invisible humor
I’m with you in Rockland
where we are great writers on the same dreadful
typewriter

- Excerpt from Allen Ginsberg’s Howl (full text)

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“So it goes.”

- Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

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“Sometimes, when you fall, you fly.”

- Neil Gaiman, The Sandman

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“I’m telling you stories. Trust me.”

- Jeanette Winterson, The Passion

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“Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts.”

- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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“Ask her if she still keeps all her kings in the back row.”

- Holden Caufield in Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Thanks to Cat for letting me post this.