This is Dominick’s tattoo.

Simply the word “integrity.” I wanted it to be phonetically spelled because of my extreme passion for words.

In college when I learned or came along new words, it excited me to look them up. The word “integrity” comes from my interpretation in a line from “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, my favorite author. Nick Carraway is making an assessment of himself as a man in chapter 3. He thinks:

“Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”

That quote in the book stands out for me every time i read it. Fitzgerald once said, “You can stroke people with words.” I believe it.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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Nieninque’s tattoo is from The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.  It is Tolkien’s original illustration of Smaug for the book’s first edition.

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Andy submitted this birdcage tattoo:

I got this pen-and-ink drawing by Kurt Vonnegut on my arm on January 3rd. The empty birdcage never appeared in any of his novels, but refers to a specific scene in Breakfast of Champions. The scene consists of the book’s main character, Kilgore Trout, trying to set free a pet bird he’s kept for years. When the bird refuses to leave the cage, Trout says something to the effect of ”Good choice, Bill. Now you’ve still got something to wish for.”

The image first appeared as a silkscreen later in Vonnegut’s life, when he took up pen-and-ink drawing as a hobby. These were silkscreened in limited numbers and sold on Vonnegut’s website. It became the front page of his official website on the day he died.

I began reading Kurt Vonnegut when I was thirteen and found my way of thinking both reflected and transformed in his writing. He almost single handedly guided me through high school, and his death when I was sixteen felt like losing a grandparent. I chose the birdcage as a memorial because its stark, proud simplicity reminds me of everything I love about both his literary style and his philosophy. When set against the backdrop of his death, it conveys a sentiment not unlike the subtitle of his novel Slapstick: “Lonesome no more.”

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This tattoo also belongs to Kristen and is a tribute to Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

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This alphabet tattoo was submitted by Margaret, who says:

This tattoo is in my own handwriting. I used to be a librarian and I love the idea of the infinite potential of the alphabet. My tattoo contains the interconnectedness of all literary possibility, yet it was also very useful. I used it when I was putting books away, so I wouldn’t have to keep saying the hard part of the alphabet a billion times a day. Pure idiocy or genius, I haven’t decided which.

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Day 7: It would have been so pretty…

Last night I dreamed a sweet sweet dream
I thought I saw my home sweet home
And oh how grand it all did seem
I made a vow no more to roam
By that dear old village church I strolled
While the bell in the steeple sadly called
I saw my daddy old and grey
I heard my dear old mother say
You’re as welcome as the flowers in May and we love you in the same old way
We’ve been waiting for you day by day, you’re as welcome as the flowers in May
We’ve been waiting for you day by day, you’re as welcome as the flowers in May

- You’re as Welcome as the Flowers in May by Hank Snow

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Day 6: To. Part 2.

Apparently the person who designed this tattoo has a habit of sabotaging his stencils, so if anyone steals his tattoo designs and doesn’t double check them, they end up tattooing things like this on people. Luckily it is easily fixable.

Too Tough to Die is the eighth album by the Ramones, released in 1984.

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Day 5: To.

“Too fast to live, too young to die, bye bye.”

- From the song James Dean by Eagles

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Day 4: Religious error.

Chronieles?  Oops.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

- 2 Chronicles 7:14 (King James version)

(source)

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Day 3: So is your tattoo.

This tattoo reads “imermanence is forever”.  It should read “impermanence”.

(source)

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