The 2011 Tattooed Poets Project Recap

When I first started The Tattooed Poets Project in 2009, I was flying blind. Now, three years and 96 posts from 90 poets later, I feel truly blessed. To say it is a labor of love is an understatement. The Tattooed Poets Project may run for only one month, but I start working on it three months earlier, and getting thirty poets to participate is a challenge. E-mails back and forth, Facebook messages, and the sublimation of my worry that I will seem stalker-esque and creepy.

I simply could not do this without the people I call my champions: Stacey Harwood and David Lehman with the Best American Poetry blog, the incomparable Dorianne Laux who is an uninked poet, but seems to have an endless list of poets she does know with tattoos, and Adam Deutsch, my West Coast connection. This year, Patricia Carragon, who curates the Brownstone Poets reading group in New York became the latest in a growing list of talented individuals who sounded the clarion call for submissions.

To these folks, as well as all the participants who contributed this year, I raise my arms in a gesture of praise and thanksgiving. Without all of you, this little venture, which next year will eclipse the century mark in both submissions and contributors, would be fruitless.

Remember, you can see who has participated this year, as well as in years past, here, in the Tattooed Poets Project Index.

Again, thanks to all who have sent me their work, both written and inked, and to all of you who have been checking in daily. And for all of you Tattoosday fans who have been waiting patiently for our "regular" programming to resume, tomorrow we will start posting regularly again, and, boy, do we have some great stuff to showcase in May.

With gratitude and humility, I thank you all.

Bill Cohen
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Sunday, May 1, 2011 0 comments

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.
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Saturday, April 30, 2011 , , , 0 comments

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.
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Tattoo Society Magazine - Mastering the art of Black and Gray

Tattoo Society Magazine - Mastering the art of Black and Gray
Tattoo Society Magazine - Mastering the art of Black and Gray

Tattoo Society Magazine (Mastering the art of Black & Gray, Issue 22) [Single Issue Magazine]
Tattoo Society Magazine (Mastering the art of Black & Gray, Issue 22)
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Friday, April 29, 2011 0 comments

Japan's Tattoo Arts: Horiyoshi's World Vol. 1

Japan's Tattoo Arts: Horiyoshi's World Vol. 1

Japan's Tattoo Arts: Horiyoshi's World Vol. 1

This review is from: Japan's Tattoo Arts: Horiyoshi's World Vol. 1 (in Japanese & English) (Paperback)
Having read, and viewed many a tattoo magazine and book, as well as collecting many a tattoo of my own, it is hard to find a good book of tattoos that shows this many true masterpieces. This book has over 175 pages of beautiful bodysuits. Thinking of beginning a bodysuit? This is the place to begin.
Japan's Tattoo Arts: Horiyoshi's World Vol. 1 (in Japanese & English)
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Tattoo Society Magazine - Limited edition a Nightmare Special

Tattoo Society Magazine - Limited edition a Nightmare Special
Tattoo Society Magazine - Limited edition a Nightmare Special


Tattoo Society Magazine (Limited edition a Nightmare Special, Issue 24 2010)
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Revolver Magazine - The Tattoo Issue - The Bloody History of Hard Rock & Heavy Ink

Revolver Magazine - The Tattoo Issue - The Bloody History of Hard Rock & Heavy Ink

This review is from: Revolver Magazine (March/April 2010) (The Tattoo Issue! The Bloody History of Hard Rock & Heavy Ink! Slayer; Ozzy; Henry Rollins; Slipknot; Motorhead) (Single Issue Magazine)
This is a must have for your ink inspired collection. I collect anything & everything Henry (as in Rollins; God of the Spoken Word), & that's how I stumbled apon this gem. It's worth the price in pics alone, but the insightful articles & interviews will make you happy you discovered it.
Revolver Magazine (March/April 2010) (The Tattoo Issue! The Bloody History of Hard Rock & Heavy Ink! Slayer; Ozzy; Henry Rollins; Slipknot; Motorhead)
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