Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos
The original literary tattoo blog! Over 600 tattoos from books, poetry, music, and other sources.
This belongs to Pier.
This poem means a lot to me and I wanted it to be a part of me and this is the best way I could choose. The font is “Courier New”.
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked
- The first line of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl.
This is Kevin Cifone’s tattoo.
I speak of love that comes to mind:
The moon is faithful, although blind;
She moves in thought she cannot speak.
Perfect care has made her bleak.
I never dreamed the sea so deep,
The earth so dark; so long my sleep,
I have become another child.
I wake to see the world go wild.
- “An Eastern Ballad” by Allen Ginsberg
This is Ashley Weidner’s tattoo.
I spent hours with printouts of Ginsberg’s handwriting to try and re-create it as best I can, to come up with this, my most memorable refrain from HOWL.
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
I’m with you in Rockland
where your condition has become serious and is reported on the radio
I’m with you in Rockland
where the faculties of the skull no longer admit the worms of the senses
This tattoo belongs to Emily.
Real holy laughter in the river! They saw it all! the wild eyes! the holy yells! They bade farewell! They jumped off the roof! to solitude! waving! carrying flowers! Down to the river! into the street!
- Excerpt from Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”.
This is Leyna’s tattoo.
It’s from Part I of “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg. The entire stanza reads:
who copulated ecstatic and insatiate with a bottle of
beer a sweetheart a package of cigarettes a candle and fell off the bed, and continued along
the floor and down the hall and ended fainting
on the wall with a vision of ultimate cunt and
come eluding the last gyzym of consciousness,
Leyna says:
… I thought better of tattooing that much obscenity on me. “Ecstatic and insatiate” seem to capture Ginsberg’s own vision of New York City, as well as the sentiment I feel as I begin my sixth (!) year living in Manhattan or an outter burough. I’m a huge fan of the beats and love having a piece of Ginsberg’s work.
Done by Derik @ Hand of Glory in Brooklyn
Submitted by Doc Luben:
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
I’m with you in Rockland
where your condition has become serious and is reported on the radio
I’m with you in Rockland
where the faculties of the skull no longer admit the worms of the senses
- Excerpt from Allen Ginsberg’s Howl (full text)
