A beautifully packaged full-color collection of literary tattoos and short personal essays, The Word Made Flesh is an intimate but anonymous confessional book, in the vein of thought-provoking anthologies like PostSecret and Not Quite What I Was Planning. Gorgeous photographs and candid commentary are collected by authors Eva Talmadge—whose short story “The Cranes” was cited as Notable Nonrequired Reading of 2008 in Dave Eggers’ Best American Nonrequired Reading 2009—and Justin Taylor, author of Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever, and editor of the acclaimed short fiction anthology, The Apocalypse Reader.
The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms
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Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide is a guide to the emerging subculture of literary tattoos—a collection of more than 150 full-color photographs of human epidermis indelibly adorned with quotations and illustrations from Dickinson to Pynchon, from Shakespeare to Plath. With beloved lines of verse, literary portraits, and illustrations—and statements from the bearers on their tattoos' history and the personal significance of the chosen literary work—The Word Made Flesh is part collection of photographs and part literary anthology written on skin.
About the Author
Eva Talmadge's fiction has appeared in The New York Tyrant, The Agriculture Reader, New Orleans Review, and Subtropics, among other publications. Her short story "The Cranes" was cited as Notable Nonrequired Reading in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2009 (Dave Eggers, ed.).
Justin Taylor edited the acclaimed short fiction anthology The Apocalypse Reader, and is the author of Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever, a New York Times Editors' Choice. The Gospel of Anarchy is his first novel.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've never considered getting a tattoo. They're fine, but never held any personal appeal... until I saw The Word Made Flesh. It's a photo essay of literary tattoos, and in addition to the fine editors who put the book together, it owes its success to the creativity and literacy of the individuals pictured within. Don't expect to see a lot of smiling faces. Most photographs are disembodied arms, legs, and other assorted body parts.
The tats pictured take all forms. Many are literary quotations, and it's quite fascinating to see the words that moved a reader so profoundly that he or she literally wanted them to become part of their selves. Other tattoos were recreations of cover art, illustrations, bookish logos, punctuation marks, and even portraits of authors.
One of the sequences that interested me most was a press release and a series of photographs from "The Skin Project." Writer Shelley Jackson has penned a 2,095-word short story entitled "Skin." It will never be published anywhere. The only place it is being printed is word by word on the bodies of volunteers. The only individuals who will ever be privileged to read the entire text are the tattooed "words." Five of them are pictured. And once the "words" die, the story will be gone. Very cool.
While the photographs are the central focus of the book (and they're nicely shot and pleasingly laid out), the text is likewise pleasing and diverse. Much of the text is made up of brief discussions of the tattoos in the bearers' own words, which are almost always interesting. The editors do a good job, as well, keeping things mixed up. I mentioned the press release earlier. At one point, a two-page short story that inspired a tattoo is printed in its entirety. Elsewhere, a man talks about his tattoo, and the writer quoted responds to being immortalized in this manner.
The pictures in this book are awesome! But after I'd done the quick flip, I went back and read every word of text. Literature is my greatest love, and I dig people who have been permanently marked by their reading. And I really dig this little book!
The tats pictured take all forms. Many are literary quotations, and it's quite fascinating to see the words that moved a reader so profoundly that he or she literally wanted them to become part of their selves. Other tattoos were recreations of cover art, illustrations, bookish logos, punctuation marks, and even portraits of authors.
One of the sequences that interested me most was a press release and a series of photographs from "The Skin Project." Writer Shelley Jackson has penned a 2,095-word short story entitled "Skin." It will never be published anywhere. The only place it is being printed is word by word on the bodies of volunteers. The only individuals who will ever be privileged to read the entire text are the tattooed "words." Five of them are pictured. And once the "words" die, the story will be gone. Very cool.
While the photographs are the central focus of the book (and they're nicely shot and pleasingly laid out), the text is likewise pleasing and diverse. Much of the text is made up of brief discussions of the tattoos in the bearers' own words, which are almost always interesting. The editors do a good job, as well, keeping things mixed up. I mentioned the press release earlier. At one point, a two-page short story that inspired a tattoo is printed in its entirety. Elsewhere, a man talks about his tattoo, and the writer quoted responds to being immortalized in this manner.
The pictures in this book are awesome! But after I'd done the quick flip, I went back and read every word of text. Literature is my greatest love, and I dig people who have been permanently marked by their reading. And I really dig this little book!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Dissect him how I may, then I but go skin deep." (Herman Melville)
October 12, 2010
Format:Paperback
Nicely bound on heavy stock, this book is like a pirate's chest filled with treasure. The familiar tattoos of rebellious outliers have gone mainstream, body ink enjoying a renaissance of art and literature, a combination of art and language embellishing the flesh of devotees. The author's describe their selections as eclectic, much like a mix tape. Shelley Jackson's "Mortal Work of Art: Skin" is as unconventional as it is fascinating: each participant is given one word, part of an animate project. Each person becomes a "word". Brought together, these words might tell a story, or might not. As words die, the story changes, but "the author will make every effort to attend the funeral of her words."
Text accompanying the images explains the choice of one author or another, the fondness of phrase or portrait, lines from the work of Flannery O'Connor to William Blake. The entirety of Carey Harrison's broad back is inscribed with the text of Theodore Adorno's essay, "For Marcel Proust", a paean to genius. A personal favorite, two provocative lines on Alyssa Carver's arm that parallel the veins under her skin: "a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth." In her own words, "This sentence just kills me every time I read it."
As striking as the marriage of literature and ink are the stories that accompany these extraordinary photographs, the choice of writers, the extension of art to flesh. Katherine Barthelme wears the words "Born Dancin'" on her inner arm, this selection made more astonishing by the story by Donald Barthelme, "The Baby". A child willfully tears the pages from books, her punishment commensurate isolation in her room. As the years of potential isolation accrue, a father is faced with an ethical dilemma and the necessity of a practical solution. Presentation is all, and in this striking combination of story and the pale inked flesh of an arm, storytelling jumps from page to human canvas.
At a time when the digital technology of a new millennium is perched to swallow centuries of knowledge, repackaged in the bland-faced Kindle, it is a pleasure to leaf through this literary and artistic wonderland, where the bluebird from Charlie Bukowski's poem adorns Caitlin Colford's slender neck, the Tree of Life grows uninhibited along the spine of Debi George, a teacher, and the iconic portrait of a young Walt Whitman is proudly worn by Bryan Waterman. A testimony to the universality of art and literature, the flesh of avid bookworms carries the wisdom of writers as diverse as Theodore Roethke and Margaret Atwood, Shel Silverstein and Jack Kerouac, a celebration of "the word made flesh". Luan Gaines/2010.
Text accompanying the images explains the choice of one author or another, the fondness of phrase or portrait, lines from the work of Flannery O'Connor to William Blake. The entirety of Carey Harrison's broad back is inscribed with the text of Theodore Adorno's essay, "For Marcel Proust", a paean to genius. A personal favorite, two provocative lines on Alyssa Carver's arm that parallel the veins under her skin: "a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth." In her own words, "This sentence just kills me every time I read it."
As striking as the marriage of literature and ink are the stories that accompany these extraordinary photographs, the choice of writers, the extension of art to flesh. Katherine Barthelme wears the words "Born Dancin'" on her inner arm, this selection made more astonishing by the story by Donald Barthelme, "The Baby". A child willfully tears the pages from books, her punishment commensurate isolation in her room. As the years of potential isolation accrue, a father is faced with an ethical dilemma and the necessity of a practical solution. Presentation is all, and in this striking combination of story and the pale inked flesh of an arm, storytelling jumps from page to human canvas.
At a time when the digital technology of a new millennium is perched to swallow centuries of knowledge, repackaged in the bland-faced Kindle, it is a pleasure to leaf through this literary and artistic wonderland, where the bluebird from Charlie Bukowski's poem adorns Caitlin Colford's slender neck, the Tree of Life grows uninhibited along the spine of Debi George, a teacher, and the iconic portrait of a young Walt Whitman is proudly worn by Bryan Waterman. A testimony to the universality of art and literature, the flesh of avid bookworms carries the wisdom of writers as diverse as Theodore Roethke and Margaret Atwood, Shel Silverstein and Jack Kerouac, a celebration of "the word made flesh". Luan Gaines/2010.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What I Can Tell You:
I love looking at tattoos, so when this book come up for review through Harper Collins, I was excited to get it. Right before I received it in the mail a girlfriend mentioned the book to me. She wanted to get it, she was putting it in her Christmas list. It seems that book lovers have taken to putting the written word on their bodies. Whether it is a word, a phrase, a paragraph or sometimes an entire page from a book, readers are memorializing their favorites permanently.
The book is full of color photos of some amazing work right down to the picture and font used. There is a great assortment and some very inspiring pieces. Literally Tattoos has totally made me rethink my personal tattoo thoughts. Since I was 18 I have wanted a tattoo and at 25 actually went to a tattoo artists with picture in hand. Fortunately the guys wife went into labor and the tat never happened. Loved it at the time, but now I feel it would have been a mistake.
I really enjoyed looking at the 100 full color photos and even thinking about the books which inspired some pieces. My to read list has just gotten larger.
Check out the Tumblr Tattoo Lit page for photos and descriptions if interested.
I love looking at tattoos, so when this book come up for review through Harper Collins, I was excited to get it. Right before I received it in the mail a girlfriend mentioned the book to me. She wanted to get it, she was putting it in her Christmas list. It seems that book lovers have taken to putting the written word on their bodies. Whether it is a word, a phrase, a paragraph or sometimes an entire page from a book, readers are memorializing their favorites permanently.
The book is full of color photos of some amazing work right down to the picture and font used. There is a great assortment and some very inspiring pieces. Literally Tattoos has totally made me rethink my personal tattoo thoughts. Since I was 18 I have wanted a tattoo and at 25 actually went to a tattoo artists with picture in hand. Fortunately the guys wife went into labor and the tat never happened. Loved it at the time, but now I feel it would have been a mistake.
I really enjoyed looking at the 100 full color photos and even thinking about the books which inspired some pieces. My to read list has just gotten larger.
Check out the Tumblr Tattoo Lit page for photos and descriptions if interested.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!
This book was exactly what I hoped it would be! I'm an English teacher a d a tattoo enthusiast, so this was a perfect book for me!
Published 2 months ago by CoRo
5.0 out of 5 stars
great gift.
my nerdy girlfriend went bananas over these things. they are a great little gift. buy a couple of them. yay!
Published 3 months ago by Austin S. Durant
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful cover, Wonderful concept
I loved the idea of this book and the cover really sold me on purchasing this as a gift for a friend's birthday. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Kye Q
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tattoo Book
This book was different, but cool to read and the pictures of the art work was great plus they had a story from my state
Published 5 months ago by Stacie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book review
I absolutely love this book! At first it seems like a picture book, but the stories that go along with the pictures are very interesting and compelling. Read more
Published 6 months ago by diamond dragon
4.0 out of 5 stars
My only gripe is that I wish it was longer!
What a great book...wonderful photographs, interesting back stories and even my own lovely Bloomington was featured (thanks to a local tattooed bookworm)! Read more
Published 13 months ago by Kat (No Page Left Behind)
2.0 out of 5 stars
Won't Buy
I found the blog this book is based on through a gorgeous Harry Potter tattoo, and having one of those myself I was ready to buy this book. Read more
Published 14 months ago by 19yearslater
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 stars
This is a great little book. I liked the tattoos that it had & that there was a decent description for each. The set up of the book is also good.
Published 14 months ago by Marina Da Costa
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very disappointing...
I had high expectations for this book but the actual "look" of the book itself is the only redeeming value. Most of the tattoos are just quotes/ not actual art. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Angelina Iturrian
5.0 out of 5 stars
Literary Tattooes
Book arrived quickly and was as described. I have been looking for this for a while. Thanks for the shipment!
Published 18 months ago by emattyn
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