Customer Reviews

The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

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. And the stories are quite underwhelming to say the least. For being inspired by literature, I thought this was a rather big flop.

to publish all kinds of literary tattoos - some are just single words, some are huge collages, but all are somehow related to literature. It's a great thing to look it and most of the tattoos have their story next to it so one really gets to see what people have on their skin, why and what it means to them.

If you are a colorful (in more ways than one) literary geek such as myself, "The Word Made Flesh" is just about heaven sent! Chock full of beautifully inspiring tattoos with a literary tie-ins, this book is a wonderful compendium for the literary punk; the tattooed nerd; or the boldly bedazzled bookworm. While the book is a bit thin on material and none of the individual's stories go into detail, what is here is a commendable, original anthology of tattoo culture on paper. I am the girl that loves art, literature, and tattoos, and owns just about everything- and this was the perfect gift for me!

Book arrived quickly and was as described. I have been looking for this for a while. Thanks for the shipment!

Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo for your love of books, or just one story or author in particular? Well these folks have. This is a wonderful collection of literary tattoos on booklovers. From Eric Carle to Walt Whitman everybody has that book that meant something to them. Maybe it looked really nice. As the stories of tattoos inside state, not all tattoos are created equal. Sometimes you just have a love for how they look, or a love of words. Sometimes you have something more.

This was a fun coffee table type book. Not something you necessarily sit down and read from cover to cover. I really enjoyed the stories that went with some of the tattoos and some of the tats were amazing. There were some really fascinating books represented on these folks skin. Speaking of Skin. one of my favorite parts was learning about Shelley Jackson's 2,095 word short story that was not written down on paper, called Skin. She had volunteers from all over that agreed to have a word and any punctuation tattooed on a part of their body. Then, they snap a photo and send it to her so she can compile them to make her story. It sounds amazing, and I can't wait to see the finished product.This was a fun little book to look at and definitely worth the time if you are fascinated by tattoos.

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Purchased: Sent to me by Publisher

What I Loved:This was a fantastic picture rendering of many different literary tattoos. They ranged from classics to contemporaries and all were a work of art! I loved when the people would explain why they got a particular tat.

What I Liked: The authors really set back and let the tats speak for themselves.

Complaints: None really!

Why I gave it a 4: I really enjoyed looking at all the pictures and wishing that I had enough nerve to get another tat!

Who I would recommend it too: I would recommend it to anyone who loves Literary quotes, Book readers, and Tat Lovers!

Heard about this book on a radio show and instantly went online to buy it. Absolutely beautiful photos with cute inspiring stories. Really a great book for inspiration if you're interested in a words-only tattoo. Great coffee table book, too.