The Tattooed Poets Project: Debbie Kirk

I always like to finish up the Tattooed Poets Project on a strong note, so today's tattooed poet, the last of this year's series, is the heavily-tattooed poet Debbie Kirk.

It also happens to be Debbie's birthday today, as we check out one of her tattoos. More specifically, let's look at the top of her left arm:

This piece, complete with straight razor, brass knuckles and cherry bomb, bears a banner that proclaims "Bow to your elders, you Emo Fucks."

I mean, what more can I say about that?

In discussing which tattoo of Debbie's to use, this exchange took place:

Tattoosday: "I hesitate to use the emo one because of the language and because I'm sure people will not understand why you would get it, but that makes me want to use it more".

Debbie: "its a favorite with peeps...it has been declared the sexiest tattoo ever..."

Tattoosday: "I love tattoos but they are generally so benign nowadays, so it's nice to see one with a true fuck-all attitude."

Debbie: "Yeah, that defines me what you said right there....and why I got the tattoo. I think that single tattoo is the most ME. I can be a bit honest...which is why people like my poetry."

Where'd she get the tattoo? Debbie recalls " I just remember I got it in Venice 5 years ago from a girl who proposed to me when I told her my idea...I still tell that story. I KNEW it was good with that reaction and she was hot."
 
Debbie gave us several poems to choose from, and the one we selected, she says, is very representative of her work:

Little Frankenstein girl

 

Little Frankenstein girl

has the hands of a pianist

And the heart of a broken organ

With thorns, glass

Bats and Indian ink

Seeping thro…

Sewn together

Crookedly stitched

Like a pastel valentine heart

Filled with mismatched parts

Little Frankenstein girl

Has the right brain of a killer

Her right hand is dominant

While her left foot always faces away

Wanting to disconnect

To run

To be free

To not be part of this

Fucked up experiment

Dreamt up by

A genius dressed in rags

And chased by demons

The kind that really scratch and bite

When you are fast asleep

Little Frankenstein girl

Is not a little girl anymore

The curls in her hair

Dreaded up in the sun

Medusa in the wind

Her loud strong voice

Muffled under the stitches

That firmly binds her lips together

Bondage bringing pleasure

Only to those who wish

To keep her silent

(and they are many)

The little Frankenstein girl

Can’t count the stitches on her wrists

From all of those nights

With her right hand doing

What her left foot

Wanted to walk away from

And her not understanding

That she was never really alive

In the first place

Little Frankenstein girl

All mixed up

And

Mix matched

Returning every evening

With fresh wounds to be sewn

From another vain attempt

To be mortal for just a few seconds

Before the fall

Little Frankenstein girl

Stolen parts

Come with stolen lies

Maggots and flies.

The gravedigger, looking to make a buck

Steals her a kiss

The moistness quenches her lips

He promises more kisses tomorrow

She scurries home

Knowing full well

She’s damned to a life of stolen kisses

And malfunctioning hearts

that spit in the moonlight.

~ ~ ~

Debbie Kirk has published 6 chapbooks and been in 12 anthologies and hundreds of print and online zines. She lives in Santa Cruz with her dog Dr. Gonzo.  She has a website she rarely updates at tntkirk.com but she can be best located lurking around Facebook!  Also check out http://tntkirk.com/.

Thanks to Debbie for sharing her tattoo and poetry with us here as we close out the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday. Also, we wish her a very happy birthday today!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: David Jonathan Newman

Today's tattooed poet is David Jonathan Newman, who sent along this photo:

Dave explains:

"The tattoo is fairly literal; the state of Florida is burning, with the words "Til The Bitter End" aside it.  I moved to Miami for 4 years to pursue a relationship, and saw it out to its unfortunate conclusion.  The tattoo is born out of that experience, and I got it to help me put a finishing stamp on what happened there and what brought me back to Long Island.  None of us are perfect, but we can become stronger people if we have reminders of our mistakes and put them to good use to make sure they don't happen again.  This piece, along with most of the work on my body, was done by Chris Koutsis of Da Vinci Tattoo Studio in Wantagh NY.  I told him exactly what I had in mind, and between my ideas and his talents I was very happy with the outcome."

The following is my favorite of the several poems David sent me to choose from:

hello, atmosphere.

I keep the eyes of a rapist in a jar by my bed
walk lightly
for that part of the room is glass
modern-day sorcerer, am I
blueprints and otherworldly photographs in my drawers
beakers and tubes filled with dust
the cold makes it feel like home
and when the mirror talks to me, it only says
"I will wrap you in a sheet before this night is done."
well so says you, my sweet, but look what you've become
all my furniture, ghosts
rooms rife with other lives
no doors
my paintings are stolen from churches and are hanging backwards and are numbered one to infinity.

~ ~ ~

David Jonathan Newman has been a poet and vocalist/lyricist in bands, both on Long Island, NY and in Miami, FL.  He currently is working on a collection of poetry, writes music as a solo artist and has a blog (http://captainselfdestruct.blogspot.com) where he posts both his solid works and stream of consciousness ideas.  He's been winning poetry contests since 6th grade, and the poem above, "Hello, Atmosphere" won a writing contest at the SUNY College Of Old Westbury which was featured in Harmonia, their on-campus writing publication.

Thanks to David for sharing his tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Claire Nelson

Well, dear readers, I've been waiting to post this next tattoo for over a year, ever since Dorianne Laux posted it on her Facebook wall last April and directed me to it. This amazing tattoo belongs to Claire Nelson. Behold:

This photo was taken shortly after the tattoo was done by artist Ron Henry Wells, who graciously allowed me to copy it from his site and reprint it here. He noted that he "used a antique typewriter that [he owns] as reference". He was also swift to point out that the picture's not that great, as the curve of Claire's thigh makes the tattoo look a little warped, but he swears it is straight. I would beg to differ, as the photo really captures the beauty of the tattoo and the wonderful artifice of the tattooist.

Claire sent me a newer photo for a slightly different perspective:

 

Claire explains this incredible tattoo:

"I love writing, tattoos and typewriters. When I met with Ron at Anonymous Tattoo in Savannah, Georgia, he seemed as psyched about doing my tattoo as I was about getting it. Ron asked a few simple questions. “How do you feel about birds?” I felt good. “Flowers?” I also had positive feelings about flowers. And then, we were off. Two sessions and some intense pain later, I came out with this amazing tattoo. Writing will always be part of my life, and now so will this tattoo."

Claire also shared this poem: 

Kazoo Serenade

The last nice thing you said to me

was “Your breath smells
like vodka,”

as I hummed at you

through a kazoo.
It was an

original composition;

maybe not

technically perfect—

I wasn’t concerned

with mechanics.
Who needs rules

when there are kazoos in the world?

I did an accompanying jig

on a cracked patch

of sidewalk.

Why is cement

always damp
on summer nights? It made such a

satisfying smack

against my bare-feet,

cool and wet,

like the familiar kiss

of a person I rarely see.

I could have danced circles around you

all night

until we were both too dizzy to know

melody from moment,

beauty from spit and plastic.

Instead, I unbuttoned
the pocket

on your shirt, and slipped the kazoo inside.

I don’t need retrospect

to tell me

you don’t deserve

a kazoo serenade. Oh I wish

it was about deserve

and not desire. 

~ ~ ~

Claire Nelson is a senior Dramatic Writing major at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. After graduation Claire will be moving to Tallahassee to pursue her M.F.A. in poetry at Florida State University.

As for Ron, he is currently working out of the Boston area, but occasionally is a guest artist at Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Claire for sharing one of the best tattoos we have seen in this year's Tattooed Poets Project, and for sharing her poetry as well, here on Tattoosday.

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/ and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Tantra-zawadi

Today, as we enter our final week of this year's Tattooed Poets Project, we are honored to have Tantra-zawadi as our tattooed poet.

Photo by Arnold Browne

Tantra shared the tattoo visible on her right arm:

This tattoo was done by Louis of Third Eye Tattoo in Brooklyn. Tantra explains:

"Swans usually mate for life…Passion is a given in my work and how I love...The inspiration to become a part of something or someone for the duration of the journey is deeply beautiful.  Breathing through the ripples, the illusions, the wounds, the truth, the laughter, the healing and the magic of letting love…Sharing life IS the adventure! My poetry, like the mating of swans has been a part of my consciousness since I was a girl child.  It has grown with me and in me; writing candid love notes on my heart to the groove of house music in my soul!  I am life poetry."

Tantra also shared this tattoo:

Photo by Arnold Browne

On her left shoulder is the line "We make love in the way of the spirit," from her poem "Third Eye Kisses" (Gathered at Her Sky - Poets Wear Prada Publishing 2010).

Tantra shared this poem with us:

Poem for Haiti

Toe nails painted red
Fingernails and
Lips thus stained

I look at her cleanly
Parted scalp
Plaited locks of wisdom

With lavender ribbons

Gathered at her sky

Vibrant energy skirted and

Pleated from waist to ankle

With her hands delicately

Placed upon her chest

One on top of the other
Motionless

She was gentle
(I think) Most likely
Waiting for her groom
for she was a good girl
before she was swallowed

They lay in piles
the brown people tinged gray
and I wonder
if the one with the chocolate hand
was her beloved

Respectfully waiting for his bride

He dreamed of her too
(I think)
before he was swallowed

Butthereweresomany

Thereweresomany

Thereweresomany

Fairies, maidens
Princes, poison apples
and ogres in the agony of
Hushed lullabies and wailing
Absent walls or petitions

Only tears of freedom

Gushing in perfect French
pooling into mud cakes and spirits
that rise from their dust

Excerpt from Gathered at Her Sky - Poets Wear Prada Publishing 2010

~ ~ ~

Tantra-zawadi best describes her work "by the love that I make through my art to the vision of the unseen reality."  Soulful and sublime, her poetry explores love in all its forms; from the rush of the first kiss to the bittersweet.  Born in Brooklyn, New York, as a performance poet and published author, Tantra uses her voice to support the rights of women to exist, think and create through art.

Tantra has performed to standing-room audiences at venues as far away as South Africa, London, Germany and Toronto as well as venues closer to home in the tri-state area.  She has performed original works in the off-Broadway productions of Girl – A Choreospective, A Night of Three God/desses: Soldier Blues and Powerful Women, An Evolution in Reinvention, the Numeral Three, Leaving My Apartment and Other Urban Adventures and projects with the vonduvoisdancecollective. Tantra's recent appearances include the New York Public Library of Performance Arts at Lincoln Center, Badilisha Poetry X-Change Festival in Cape Town, South Africa and the Montserrat Poetry Festival in Missouri.  Tantra is a 2010 Pushcart Prize Nominee and a recipient of the Kings County District Attorney's Office Women’s History Month Award for her artistic contributions to the borough of Brooklyn.

Tantra’s latest release, “Gathered at Her Sky” from Poets Wear Prada Publishing, is available at Amazon and LULU.com (June 2010).  Tantra, a mentor for Girl-Child Network Worldwide (GCN), will donate partial proceeds from Gathered at Her Sky to GCN to provide education, personal items and empowerment for girls in Zimbabwe.  Tantra is also the author of “alifepoeminprogress” by Chuma Spirit Books, and her poetry was featured in Essence Magazine and in spoken word publications such as Redeye, Spoken Vizions, defpoetryjam.com, Platinum Poets, Sunpiper Press, Souled Up and poetswearprada.com.

Tantra-zawadi is the host of her own spoken word series, WORDSPACE, and has made several appearances on cable television, local and satellite radio shows. Known for being on the cutting edge as an artist and for speaking out about issues such as HIV and AIDS awareness, Tantra’s poem and video “Scarlet Waters,” was featured on the Product(RED) video wall created by U2’s Bono and Bobby Shriver, to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS in Africa.  Her short documentary, “A Silent Genocide ~ A Brief Insight into HIV/AIDS” edited by Oliver Covrett, takes another look at the personal impact of this disease.   Tantra also participated in a public service announcement for BETAH Associates produced by Marc Herbert Productions aimed at promoting HIV/AIDS awareness.  Tantra’s videos and films may be viewed on-line @ www.youtube.com/tantrazawadi.

Tantra-zawadi is a member of Collective Spirits and their “Love Planet” EP produced by Jonny Montana and Neil Maclean (Camio Recordings), showcases Bennett Holland on keys, Tantra on poem and Dana Byrd on vocals (traxsource.com).  Tantra is also a contributing artist on poetry compilations such as the award winning “Liberation Sessions: Soul of the City CD” by Mwalim (cdbaby.com), “Summerbreeze EP” by Dolls Combers (traxsource.com), “Poetic Stimulus” by Atlanta Red (poeticstimulus.com), “EARTHOLOGY” by Floyd Boykin, Jr., poet/founder of Spoken Vizions Magazine (cdbaby.com), “Rizen” by Cendrine Marrouat, recordings with world renowned DJ Groove Assassin on “Love Seeker” (GKF Records), Soul Agenda’s “Don’t Let It Go,” Nastee Nev’s “Secrets of Life” and “Giant Steps – Back From Miami” with Dana Byrd on vocals for Do It Now Recordings - all available at traxsource.com.

Follow Tantra-zawadi Online:

www.tantra-zawadi.com

http://www.pw.org/content/tantra_zawadi

www.facebook.com/tantra.zawadi

www.myspace.com/tantrais

www.blackartinamerica.com/profile/Tantrazawadi

~ ~ ~

Thanks to Tantra-zawadi for sharing her tattoos and poetry with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/ and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Christina Continelli

Today's tattoo comes to us from poet Christina Continelli. This is part of the lower half of her arm sleeve:

Christina explains the origin of this piece:

"The tattoo is from the front cover of a vintage Heavy Metal comic book my ex-boyfriend used to have. The sleeve was adapted from the drawing by Avelino Avilia at Spirits in the Flesh Tattoo Studio in San Francisco. I had the work done in 1997. There was no deep meaning behind it. I simply found the original image aesthetically pleasing."

What follows is Christina's poem "Charity, " which, she says, "was supposed to be published in [another magazine] this year, but they fell off the face of the earth." Their loss is our gain, I say, and they haven't responded to her queries about the poem, so this would mark it's first publication, I believe.

Charity

This person who requires

very little of me

wrecks the neighborhood

in spirits and crushed feathers               

I wheedle the ajar door

just give a push

and enjoy the feel of it giving

Let loose on the night

with you clawing behind me

feral, whip-tailed, gentle man

a shriek of rubber on wet pavement

and questions

so many questions

I feel two things:

the smoky grit of the upholstery &

the constellation of insects in my veins

Lust is the arch of the moon

in the stomach of a middle-aged woman

perverse and sterile,

a sprinkling of glass and lacquer

from a childhood memory

of dark sex and rage

I keep hearing you talk to me

It sounds like a sugar cube

muddled in brandy

 ~ ~ ~

Christina Continelli is a poet, fiction writer, and essayist. She cut her poetry teeth in the San Diego spoken word scene. In 2004 she moved to Oakland, California to attend the MFA program at California College of the Arts. Her work has appeared in Goodfoot Magazine, Slice, How2,  and Monday Night Lit.

Thanks to Christina for sharing her poem and tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

~

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Grisel Acosta

Today's tattooed poet, Dr. Grisel  Y. Acosta, sends her submission in from Texas:

 Grisel explains this body art:

The Mets are kind of responsible for the tattoo I have on my arm and shoulder.  See, my husband is obsessed with the Mets and when we moved to San Antonio from the East Coast, he lamented not being able to see his team on a regular basis.  He was so puppy-dog sad that when he planned a trip to Houston purely on the basis of seeing the Mets play the Astros in Minute Maid Park, I couldn’t help but enthusiastically agree, just to see the wonderfully happy look on his face.  But, I said that if he was going to have a cool experience on the trip, I had to have one, too: I was to get my next tattoo at the famous Texas Body Art, known for countless features in tattoo magazines and highlighted appearances at tattoo shows across the country.  I wanted a skull with blue roses coming out of it but I was wavering about the idea.  Then, a dear friend reminded me of the literary connection of the image in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, one of my favorite plays by one of my favorite writers.  Ah, yes, the idea was perfect—and the trip was, too!  The Mets won in a record 17 innings!  And I won a professional work of art that was designed on the spot in a matter of minutes by the skilled artists at Texas Body Art.  Sweet!

For people not familiar with The Glass Menagerie, one of the characters, Laura, has the nickname "Blue Roses".

Grisel also sent along this poem:

Trash

Papi threw out all my artwork.

Derek’s carved open chest,

blue-black heart and orange skin in

Design marker scrawl,

condemning our underground afternoon of

Southside sad lust.

A spotlighted box of cereal called “Health”

in a room with a grass floor, pine tree

decoration, and chopped lumber sitting neatly.

Acrylic nature.  I miss this one the most.

I am reminded of it every time I shop at Whole Foods.

Even the two-bits.  Tiny 2x2 art,

entered in competition, or sold.

Two of mine won awards.

One of them, my first sale, was bought for $5.

It was a multi-colored, swirling cathedral called “My Bed.”

I placed all the work under the bed

in the guest room.  By my next visit,

it was gone,

except for “Insane Bridget.”

She is framed and in the living room,

face turned away, bony back

curved at the viewer, harsh

charcoal on brown paper.

Dark copper sadness, winner of a gold prize.

Papi values winning.

Anything else is trash.

And this is why, today, he is so afraid,

scared that retirement means he, too, is trash,

wary of children who might find him useless.

But artists make beauty out of trash.

We roll in the discarded and live with its decline,

listen to it crumble and make the sound song,

cradle it in our hands and sculpt it useful.

 ~ ~ ~

Dr. Grisel Y. Acosta recently graduated from the doctoral program in English at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she was also the managing editor of UTSA’s art and literature journal, SagebrushReview.  Some of her creative work can be found in After Hours, Pembroke Magazine, MiPoesias, the NAACP Image Award nominated Check the Rhyme, PrivateInternational Photo Review, and Voicesde la Luna.  Some of her scholarly work can be found in African AmericanWomen’s Language, Western AmericanLiterature, The Handbook ofLatinos/as and Education, and the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Latino/a Literature.  Her influences include her Cuban/Colombian heritage, Chicago—where she was born, house and punk music, sci-fi and cyberculture.

A sincere thanks to Grisel for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Jared Singer

Yesterday, we enjoyed the tattoos and poetry of Elliott D. Smith. Today, we get to check out the work of his roommate, Jared Singer.

I met Jared, along with Justin, last month at the Barnes & Noble flagship store. Like Elliott, Jared's tattoo is a work "in progress" inked by the incomparable Joy Rumore at Twelve 28 Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Check out Jared's upper right arm:

Jared explained that this tattoo has two origins. First, it was inspired by lyrics from a group called Living Legends. More specifically, the words "I'm so fly, even my shadow has its own friends."

The other motif in this piece comes from the lyrics in "9-5ers Anthem," by Aesop Rock, that proclaim, "I tend to underestimate my own average."

Jared says he originally conceived of the piece consisting of "shadows with other shadows". Joy drew up the design and said, "How about this instead?"

The rest is history. Well, sort of. As mentioned at the top of the post, this sleeve-to-be is still a work in progress.

Jared shared this poem with us:

The Last Love Letter from an Entomologist

Dear Samantha,

I’m sorry, we have to get a divorce.

I know that seems like an odd way

to start a love letter, but let me explain.

Its not you,

it’s definitely not me,

it’s just, human beings don’t love

as well as insects do.

I love you far too much to let what we have

be ruined by the failings of our species.

So instead,

I’m going to leave you now,

while I can still remember you fondly.

I saw the way you looked at the waiter last night,

I know you would never do anything,

you never do, but still I

saw the way you looked at the waiter last night.

Did you know that when a female fly

accepts the pheromones put off by a male

It rewrites the way her brain works,

destroys the receptors for pheromones.

Sensing the change, the male fly does the same.

When flies love each other,

they do it so hard,

that they can never love anything else ever again.

if either one dies before procreation

both sets of genetic code are lost forever.

Now that is dedication.

After breaking up with Elizabeth

we spent three days dividing

everything we had bought together

like if I knew which pots were mine,

like if I knew which drapes were mine,

the pain would go away.

When two praying mantises mate,

the nervous system of the male

begins to shut down.

While he still has control over his motor functions,

he flips onto his back

exposing his soft underbelly to his lover like a gift.

She then proceeds to lovingly

and I do mean lovingly

 dice him into tiny pieces

which she  shoves carefully into mouth

wasting not a single morsel,

even the exoskeleton must go.

She does this so that

so that when their children are born

she has a first meal to regurgitate to feed them.

Now that is dedication.

I could never do that for you.

So I have a new plan.

I plan on spending the rest of my life committing petty injustices.

I will jaywalk at every opportunity

I will steal things I could easily afford

I will be rude to strangers

I hope you will do the same.

I hope reincarnation is real.

I hope that these petty crimes cause me to be reborn as a lesser creature.

I hope we are reborn as flies.

So that we can love each other as hard as we were meant to.

~ ~ ~

We also have the good fortune of having video of Jared performing this piece at the Bowery Poetry Club in 2009:



Jared Singer is a poet and audio engineer who lives in New York City. While he may have physically grown up with his peers, he has never forgotten the imagination, magic, and nerdiness that were corner stones of his childhood. He hopes to remind others of these more creative times. He has been published by The Legendary, Union Station Magazine, The Spoken Word Almanac Project 2010 and has also appeared on the Indiefeed Peformance Poetry Podcast. He is the NYC Urbana 2009 Grand Slam Poetry Champion, The 2009 NYC Louder Arts Individual World Poetry Slam representative and a member of the 2010 Nuyorican Poets Cafe Poetry Slam Team.

Much thanks and appreciation to Jared for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Elliott D. Smith

I met Elliott D. Smith at the Union Square Barnes & Noble last month and took pictures of his tattoos for The Tattooed Poets Project. I also met his roommate Jared, whose work will appear here tomorrow.

Elliott has quite a bit of work, including a sleeve-in-progress, which is being constructed by the wonderfully talented Joy Rumore at Twelve 28 Tattoo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Check out this composite of Elliott's right arm:

This still-incomplete tattoo is part of a sleeve based on a mural at the Morgan Street stop on the L train in Brooklyn.

Photo by Elliott D. Smith

The sleeve has the Alice in Wonderland figure at its center, but a lot of other images, like the banana as well. Elliott pointed out in the photo above that the banana (lower right corner) is much smaller. For the purpose of the art of the tattoo sleeve, its scale has been increased significantly.

Elliott added that he visually enjoys the image of the mural, and his "own little Alice in Wonderland dream land" is slowly taking shape on his flesh.

Also on his right arm with the sleeve is this quote from "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action," by Audre Lourde:

The quote is "I am not only a casualty, I am also a warrior."

There are times when a writer's words resonate so loudly in your ears, they shake you to your core. Elliott told me that he "read it [these lines] one day and the next day got the tattoo."

He offered up this interpretation of the line: "it's easy to think of yourself as victim," he said, but succeeding in life is about "surviving and fighting through victimhood".

Elliott also has these words on his outer wrists:

This is the third poet this month with "poet" inked on his or her flesh. However, the combination of "freedom poet" adds another dimension to the corporeal text.

This was a "spur of the moment" tattoo, Elliott told me, elaborating that aside from the obvious "poet," he is "holding freedom in his hand and facing out".

Finally, we don't get a lot of lower back tattoos here on Tattoosday, but when we do, they are extraordinary:

Elliott took a couple of photos into Joy and she crafted this design. The concept is a spin on the "power to the people" idea, but with an emphasis on urban people. "Most Americans live in cities," he explained, "but [they] don't have power". This is a spin on the frustration that many feel, that the values of the citizenry of the American cities are not represented by the government.

As for poetry, Elliott offered us this work:

EARNING STRIPES

I own thirteen striped shirts.

I have known the misfortune of wearing lines on skin,

stretch marks and self-hate carve flesh in convincing fashion.

No lover has ever asked me why

I have known the misfortune of wearing lines on skin,

razor blade reminders tattoo thighs with teenage dreams.

No lover has ever asked me why

it was so easy to steal from myself.

Razor blade reminders tattoo thighs with teenage dreams,

this belly, a thanksgiving turkey for carving--

it was so easy to steal from myself

when I didn’t believe I had anything to give.

This belly, a thanksgiving turkey for carving.

Sliced up white meat

when I didn’t believe I had anything to give.

Mother doesn’t know there’s blood on the stairs.

Sliced up white meat,

stretch marks and self-hate carve flesh in convincing fashion.

Mother doesn’t know there’s blood on the stairs.

I own thirteen striped shirts.

~ ~ ~

Elliott D. Smith reps Louisville, Cincinnati, and Brooklyn. When he's not  working with formerly incarcerated people or conducting research on masculinity, he drinks whiskey and talks too loudly. He believes in the power of tattoos, reference books, and matching music with the weather.

Thanks to Elliott for sharing his ink and his poetry here with us on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Stephen Caratzas

Today's tattooed poet is Stephen Caratzas, who was sent our way via Jillian Brall, a tattooed poet who has appeared on the Tattooed Poets Project twice before (here and here).

Stephen sent along this cool photo:

The tattoo in question is on his wrist. For a closer look:

Stephen explains:

"The tattoo is a griffin, inspired by an image of a griffin holding a Walther PPK automatic pistol on the cover of Ian Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The artist, whose first name was Mike - don't recall his last name - decided to make the gun into the griffin's paw, which I agreed was a sensible idea.

I got the idea for a tattoo on the inside of my wrist from one of the characters (Casper, I believe) in Larry Clark's film, Kids. I liked the idea of having a visible tattoo even while wearing a long-sleeve dress shirt."

The tattoo is among eight Stephen has, and was inked at Fun City Tattoo on Macdougal Street in Manhattan back in the late 1990s.

Stephen sent us several poems, but I liked this one best:

THE NEW CORONERS

I never felt so good as when a waiter

in Amsterdam called me monsieur

after ordering beef champignon

putting his pen to his lips and looking off

“I believe monsieur has ordered the better dish”

so then you ordered it too

in a place called De Oude Doelen

(the old aims the old targets the old goals)

a drunk at the bar sang along with the jukebox

for years afterward I searched for the song

it wasn’t Elvis but it was sad

the song and the drunk and it was our last meal

when we two parted it was inevitable

it always is it always is

~ ~ ~

Stephen Caratzas is a writer, musician and visual artist living in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. His writing has been published in Terra Incognita, Maintenant 5, the tiny, and many other journals.

Thanks to Stephen for sending us his tattoo and poems! We here at Tattoosday are grateful for his contribution.


This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Seth Berg Returns

Last year on the Tattooed Poets Project, the best ink we saw belonged to Seth Berg, hands down.If you don't believe me, check it out here.

Seth has the honor of being the only previous tattooed poet to return to the site this year. And he has sent us a quintet of tattoos, choosing the theme of "tattoos which have faces on them." And away we go:

Photo by Ashley at http://ashleybergphotography.com/

Photo by Ashley at http://ashleybergphotography.com/

Seth explains that "the two faces depicted in Audrey Kawasaki paintings are part of a half sleeve on my right arm."  Why does he have Kawasaki art inked on his flesh? "Audrey Kawasaki is one of my favorite living painters and the half sleeve is a tattoo combining two of my favorite paintings of hers," says Seth. "I have seen other Kawasaki tattoos," he continues, "but I am quite impressed with this double-painting-half-sleeve blend."

Next up is this Lego piece:

Photo by Ashley at http://ashleybergphotography.com/

Seth says "the Lego head is on the back of my left calf ... [and is]  one of the few 'walk-in' tattoos I have. I had just purchased an Exo-Force Lego set and was quite amazed at the progression of facila expression." He adds, "I decided to honor the old school original on my leg. I grew up wanting every Lego piece on the planet. I couldn't not get a Lego tattoo."

Next up is this piece:

Photo by Ashley at http://ashleybergphotography.com/

Seth says "the skull is on the lower front of my left bicep...I had always been drawn to a refined black and gray skull and cross bones."

Detail of photo by Ashley at http://ashleybergphotography.com/

"Plus," he adds, "pirate flag depictions are pretty cool."

Finally, we have a jack-o-lantern on the inside of  his left bicep:

Photo by Ashley at http://ashleybergphotography.com/

Seth explains: "I am a sucker for Halloween--my wife and I had a Halloween-themed wedding the Saturday of Halloween weekend and we host a Halloween bash every year--thus, the Jack-o-lantern was a natural addition to the collection." In case you're wondering about the word "rain" in the photo, it is not a word in Shelley Jackson's Skin Project, he just loves the rain, and this is one of a "multitude of font and literary tattoos" that he possesses, so we know what Seth is giving us next year!

Seth explains that "all of the tattoos, with the exception of the skull and bones, were completed by Claudia "Billy" Baca at Saint Sabrina's in Uptown, Minneapolis." He notes, "however, she currently works in Austin, Texas at Bijou Studio."

As for a poem, this is what Seth has offered to share with us:

"Constructing a Proper Torch"


Douse the head of a cat tail

into a soapy mixture

of Dawn brand dish detergent

and gasoline;

reinforce the stem

with a steel rod or femur;

set the head ablaze;

open your face to the air.

When paper cranes

spill from your mouth,

remember to light the dark,
  
sew feathers to your fingertips.

When the cranes,

spilling and multiplying, 

request grain and berries,

snacks of rodents and amphibians,

tell them that hunger is an essential

component of flight.

When, from the ground,

they are unable to ascend,

lend them your stitched fingertips

and take to the sky on fire.

 ~ ~ ~

Seth Michael Berg earned his MFA in poetry from Bowling Green State University in 2003 and since has been bouncing around the country teaching, tending bar, sculpting, writing, and occasionally snowshoeing. His poems and fiction can be found in Connecticut Review, Lake Effect, Word Riot, JMWW, 13th Warrior Review, Chiron Review, BlazeVOX, Pike Magazine, and Disappearing City Literary Review, among others. His first book, Muted Lines From Someone Else's Memory, was winner of Dark Sky Books book contest in 2009 and rolled off the press summer of 2010. He has since been city-hopping on lecture book tour and will next be in Chicago at the end of April. Berg lives in Chaska, MN with his photographer wife, Ashley, their supernatural son, Oak, and their Saint Bernard, Icarus. When not working, Berg can most likely be found indulging his addiction to hot sauce or slowing down somewhere in a forest. Here is a book link with audio poems and other goodies: http://darkskymagazine.com/books/seth-berg-muted-lines/.

Thanks to Seth, once again, for his invaluable contribution to the Tattooed Poets Project!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.