This is Katie C.’s tattoo:

The reason I got it was because I can really relate to having many paths in my life I might take, and I want to remind myself that if I wait around for the perfect, right one, eventually all my choices will be gone.

- Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar, Chapter 7

(32 votes, average: 4.06 out of 5)

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This is Courtney’s tattoo, which reads “Dream” in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Tengwar script.

I was raised on all of his books and they were the ones that first taught me out to dream big and dream wildly, but also to never stop dreaming those things. I think that a small part of me was always able to retain some of my childhood because of his writing. It seemed only fitting to write it on me somewhere.

(35 votes, average: 4.49 out of 5)

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This is Elizabeth’s alphabet tattoo:

This tattoo is, obviously, the alphabet. I studied literature at Bennington College and wanted a tattoo that completely encompassed my interests and passions; I couldn’t decide on any one quote, so I decided on the elements that make up all words, sentences, and paragraphs. The tattoo was done by Mike, at Bleeding Heart in Lee’s Summit, MO. He’s the greatest. The font is Georgia, and I get asked that all the time.

(62 votes, average: 4.34 out of 5)

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This is Sarah Shay’s tattoo:

Yep. It’s a semicolon. I’m a grammar and punctuation nerd by nature, and I love the semicolon in particular because, as many semicolon-haters will eagerly point out, you don’t “need” them. Unlike the more utilitarian period or comma, a semicolon never really needs to be used. It’s a stylistic choice; you can create really elegant sentences with them if you know what you are doing. I’m considering an interrobang on the other wrist.

(55 votes, average: 4.42 out of 5)

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This tattoo belongs to Mirabai Knight:

This is my Latin palindrome tattoo. It’s not from any specific literary work; it’s actually a piece of graffiti dating back at least 2,000 years. It’s been found inscribed on walls and stones in cities all over Europe, from Herculaneum to Manchester. It literally translates to “The sower Arepo holds the wheels at work”, and might have its origins in the worship of Mithras, Persian god of the sun, though not much is conclusively known. It’s the only sentence in any language that can be arranged in a grid to read identically in four different directions.

You can read more about the Sator Square on Wikipedia.

(78 votes, average: 4.46 out of 5)

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This is Gordon Lane’s semicolon tattoo:

this semicolon, on my tricep, was purchased in tucson after returning from mexico city, where i had gone on vacation from the army, an act that would shortly thereafter get me out of the army. it was an appropriate piece of punctuation for the time. plus, i simply love semicolons, even to the excess that william t. vollmann can use them.

(41 votes, average: 4.12 out of 5)

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I’m sure there will be much debate over whether or not this should be considered “literary”, but this is Deaf Lexy’s closed caption symbol.  She says:

I was born deaf and I got the symbol tattooed because I pretty much learned everything I needed to know in life with the help of closed captions. Plus, it never fails to make people smile.

(100 votes, average: 4.51 out of 5)

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Neil’s tattoo is an illustration from The Headless Bust: A Melancholy Meditation on the False Millennium by Edward Gorey.

(28 votes, average: 3.79 out of 5)

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Kristin submitted this picture of her dust jacket tattoo, as well as a picture of the original illustration.

This tattoo is based on an illustration by John Alcorn in Books! (1962), written by Murray McCain.

(36 votes, average: 3.61 out of 5)

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Jim Genzano explains his tattoo:

The tattoo says “Elendil,” the name of a character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, written in Tolkien’s Tengwar script.  In the Elvish language Quenya, the name means “elf friend” or “star lover.” Elendil’s name written in this fashion was often used as his badge and a device on his seals.  I got the tattoo – my first – as a memorial tattoo after the death of my friend Star.  I liked the “star” connection, and also Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings had a huge effect on me growing up and is still my favorite series of novels.  Star was also a fan.

(37 votes, average: 3.81 out of 5)

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