I absolutely love John Updike, so I always knew I'd get a tattoo relating to John Updike, and when he passed away at the beginning of '09, I knew this tattoo was even more important. SO, I have narrowed it down to three ideas; please comment and tell me your favorite. 1) rabbit, run - in script on my right hip (I have a Hamlet citation on my left. It is my favorite out of the Rabbit series and the novel that sparked a quartet of wonderful books. 2) rabbit at rest - i also loved At Rest, and figured this was very appropiate because of Updike's death; I think of it as a little homage. Updike is at rest. It is also the final book in the quartet. Would go on right hip. 3) In the pit of the year a king was born - My favorite line in my favorite Updike novel - The Centaur. This is considerably less blantantly Updike-ish, but still nontheless written by the man himself. I think it is a pretty phrase. What do you all think?

...I have come up with an idea of giving some love in return, given that he sent his love and gratitude to us all. Draw or make a heart and post it in comments of this news post. Please, use real HTML (not BBcode) and, if possible, a thumbnail linking to the original image. Let's show that we support John's decision and that we put music above the image and commercial machinery.

<3

Hello all! I've been reading for quite some time, and I've finally decided to have my say.
I'm going to end up looking like the guy from Momento if I don't stop adding to my list.
I'd like some opinions on which you think are cool and which you think are rubbish:

1. I'd quite like "Aude aliquid dignum", which means "Dare something worthy". I read this somewhere once and scribbled it down, but i can't for the life of me remember where it was.
2. "It is the possibility of having dreams come true that makes life interesting"-- The Alchemist
3. Mischief Managed (I know, I know).
4. What pleasure, sir, find we in life, to lock it from action and adventure?--Shakespeare
5. Remember to the last, that while there is life there is hope--charles dickens
6. What will you adventure? --Shakespeare
7. Hope, Hope to the last! --Dickens

I'm really thinking about getting 6 & 7 on either side of my collar bone, but we'll see.

Catcher in the Rye/Holden Caulfield or Chuck Palahnuik tattoos?

EDIT

My apologies.. I have pregnancy brain and I guess I didn't word this correctly. I want to get a quote pertaining to either (..but preferably Caulfield-related) and I just wanted to see the ideas that others had had.. mostly out of curiosity, I suppose.

Sorry for the confusion.

Also, I'm not concerned for your lack of appreciation for Palahnuik. Save it.

I'm seriously considering getting my first tattoo shortly after my 21st birthday. The problem is, I have absolutely no idea where to place it.

The quote is by Oscar Wilde from the Preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray:

"The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless."

I don't want it to be very large (as in something that would cover my whole back or something), and I don't particularly want it on my wrist. Any idea are welcome, and I'd love to see any other Wilde-related tattoos anyone here might have!

( The quote... )

It's from The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, which is one of my favourite books, and it serves as a reminder to me to question every idea I encounter, and also that figuring out what kind of idea I am is the first thing to figure out--and as I'm constantly changing, it's going to be that way for a while.

I got it done at Ink Obsession in Kitchener, Ontario about five months ago, and it has healed just as clearly as it was the day I took that picture, shortly after getting it done.

Done tonight.

Not really literary, but lyrics to a Johnny Hobo song.


( enjoy. )

I am planning on getting a Shakespeare tattoo but I need some help with placement. My quote is "All these woes shall serve for sweet discourses in our time to come" from Romeo & Juliet & I realize it is somewhat on the long side, but it means a lot to me based on the time in which I found it & my love for William Shakespeare. Any ideas on where a good location would be? I could also use font ideas, to be honest! Clearly, I am a tattoo virgin :) & show me your Shakespeare ink? :D
Thank you!

I've spent hours looking at fonts for my upcoming ampersand tattoo and think I've narrowed it down to the final few and would love your opinions! As far as placement I'm planning on getting it on the inside of my left arm just below the elbow.

( Read more )
Thank you so much for your help!!!

Hey guys, I've been trying to decide on an Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close tattoo forever. There are just too many beautiful parts to pick one. My latest ideas I'm leaning toward are "raisons d'etre" under my bra wire or a tambourine...possibly on my bicep but more likely on my back. The only thing is I'm not sure how a tambourine will translate into tattoo form. I'm having a hard time finding a good picture of one to even bring to my tattoo artist to suggest what I want, a lot of them just seem sort of boring or worse - you won't be able to tell what it is. But maybe I'm just being paranoid. Just wondering if you guys have any opinion/suggestions about this?

( A few pics I came across... )

Thanks for the imput!!

Hi, first post here! I wanted to share the Harry Potter tattoo I got on my foot a couple months ago (definitely the most painful out of all my tattoos!). The series is definitely what pushed me into become an avid reader when I was around 9 years old, so I will always love it!

( tattoo )

Other than that, my tattoos are pretty much all art-related. I really would like to get John Donne's sonnet "Death Be Not Proud" somewhere, but it would be quite large and I'm not sure where to put it or what kind of font/style to get it in. Any suggestions?

For my next tattoo I would like to get part of a line from To the Lighthouse. I picked out three fonts I like, which are below the cut.

( Read more... )

I think I know which font I prefer, but I'm just looking for second opinions.

The words I want are from the sentence "On, then, on to R." This is from the passage of the book where the alphabet is used as a means to measure the progress of Mr. Ramsay's mind.

As for placement, not entirely sure yet. I've wanted a tattoo on my forearm for a while, but also thinking of under my collarbone (closer to the shoulder rather than center of chest area).

Any thoughts/concerns/etc. are welcome!

Hello all! I want to start by saying that I am an artist and writer/English major/general lover of words, so I *love* this comm, and am so excited to soon be an active member!!

I have my first tattoo planned out--I want to get the word "fireworks" (sans quotes) on the inside of my left wrist. Its the title of my favorite poem, a memorial piece by Gwendolyn MacEwen. I've loved this poem for as long as I've been reading poetry, and it inspired one of the first decent poems I ever wrote. That poem was in memory of my late grandfather, so the title brings all of my nice memories of him to mind, too. There are about a hundred other reasons I want to get this word, but that's the short of it, at least.

Anyway, I'm posting for two reasons.

1) I was wondering if anyone had any advice about wrist tattoos-- does a particular type of font work better? I'm thinking something where the letters are spaces since its supposed to spread lots on the wrist... Any other general words of wisdom?
2) Does anyone have a favorite shop in Philly? I'm willing to travel--home is in Philly but the family is in South Jersey, so anywhere between the two works. I just want someplace good :)

Thanks so much in advance!!

Also!--my brother is coming with me, and is probs getting a Harry Potter piece, so I will definitely be doing a follow up picture post!