Dorothy Parker's Elbow: Tattoos on Writers, Writers on Tattoos [Paperback]

Kim Addonizio (Author, Editor), Cheryl Dumesnil (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0756791596 | ISBN-13: 978-0756791599

Once the province of sailors & bikers, tattoos have emerged from backdoor parlors to suburban shopping malls. Today they adorn starlet's ankles, housewives' shoulders, & bankers' biceps. Many of our most gifted writers across several colorful decades have found the images of the tattoo needle a vivid subject for the language of the pen. These stories, poems, & memoirs span the range of human experience, from the awesome to the absurd. From Flannery O'Connor's likeness of God to Sylvia Plath's $15 eagle, from Herman Melville's power of the primitive to Mark Doty's embrace of the ineradicable to Franz Kafka's lasting mark of the penal colony, this bold exploration of the illuminated body is guaranteed to get under your skin.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kim Addonizio teaches privately as well as being a prizewinning writer of both poetry and prose.* Cheryl Dumesnil teaches poetry at Santa Clara University as well as being a published poet herself. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Diane Pub Co (January 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756791596
• ISBN-13: 978-0756791599
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,444,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kim Addonizio is a fiction writer, poet, and teacher. Her poetry collections include Tell Me, a finalist for the National Book Award, What Is This Thing Called Love, and Lucifer at the Starlite. She lives in Oakland, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars think about tattoos instead of viewing them this time, November 15, 2002

By 

Rae Schwarz "post-modern Renaissance woman" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dorothy Parker's Elbow: Tattoos on Writers, Writers on Tattoos (Paperback)

Most tattoo books are collections of full-color images and body shots, exploring how individuals interpret what it is to be tattooed. This book has these elements, but no pictures for a change. Edited by Kim Addonizio and Cheryl Dumesnil, both tattooed, this is a written depiction of tattooing. The collection includes fiction, personal memoirs, poetry and anecdotes on the physical experience and lifestyle choice to have skin art. The title comes from the historical fact that writer Dorothy Parker had a star permanently inked on one arm.

The excerpt from Bradbury's "The Illustrated Man" will be remembered as familiar and formative to many tattoo fans. Artists write about what it was like to learn to tattoo and related various ink-related adventures with a wide array of wild customers. Concentration camp survior Paul Steinberg describes his involuntary tattoo experience. Mastectomy survior Deena Metzger's tattoo falls at the other end of the ink spectrum as part of her chosen healing process. There are tales of joy, sorrow, smart choices, drunken moments, good ink and bad.

The short lengths of the pieces makes reading this on transit or during those short breaks during the day easy, and the subject matter is a great distraction from the mundane. A definite book for the collection of those who write about tattooing, or are looking for some more historical perspective.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Writing, January 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dorothy Parker's Elbow: Tattoos on Writers, Writers on Tattoos (Paperback)

Even if you are not a fan of, or have any tattoos, you cannot help immersing yourself in the assembled writings. The editors have done a great job. I found it hard to put this one down. Fascinating subject, fascinating writing. If you appreciate great writing, you'll love this book. You may even decide to go out and get your own tattoo.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a rich collection for writers & body art addicts alike, October 25, 2003

By 

Jennifer DePrima (Manchester, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dorothy Parker's Elbow: Tattoos on Writers, Writers on Tattoos (Paperback)

I bought this while on vacation in San Francisco and read the entire thing on the plane back to New England. A great variety of short stories, essays, and poetry, this collection brings together a lot of powerful pieces of writing. Tattoos are examined from many different perspectives, ranging from a tool of intimidation and punishment to something beautiful and otherworldly. Parts made my skin prickle and my hair stand on end, bracing for the touch of the needle. I'd been thinking about getting a new one. Reading this solidified that decision.

My favorites: Murguia's "A Toda Maquina" & Orlowsky's "Tattoo Thoughts"