Literary Tattoos~~ Hawthorne

I'm a tattoo junkie. Well, not really a junkie. I just appreciate the art and love to be a part not only of the art but the culture. I'm not going to get into the history of tattooing. There are tons of websites, books and wiki entries for that. Let's just say it's a very old practice. Tattoos are becoming more accepted and more commonplace every day...and gone are the days of "mother" and anchors (although there are artists that do fabulous retro pieces...Jake Delbene of The Quillian is a prime example). More and more the trend is moving away from flash pieces (pre drawn designs you pick from a book) and toward custom work. All of my tattoos are custom. A good tattoo artist works with you and, if you develop a relationship, gets to know you. My tattoo artist, Steve Lemak from The Quillian knows about my "thing for rabbits." He also can see into my head a little bit. I design my tattoos and he draws them. I start with the idea and have Scott Golley (the head dude in charge of coordinating artists and customers) jot down what I want and do a little research. He gives the info to Steve and Steve draws it up. I like to give Scott the story behind a design so he can pass it on to Steve. Steve's never let me down. I was afraid he'd make the teacup in my Alice tattoo too narrow. Much to my surprise it was a wide brimmed cup. He knew.

So...what's this have to do with literature. My tattoos are all literary. I'm a nerd. I've been researching it and I'm not alone. A lot of people are honoring their favorite authors with quotes, tidbits and illustrations. People even get signatures of the authors tattooed.

I'll start with my latest tattoo. It's an homage to Nathaniel Hawthorne...one of my favorite American writers. The typical association is a scarlet "A" within a wood carving or Puritan style embroidery. I wasn't keen on having the mark of an adulteress on my body permanently. I'm no adulteress (yes, yes, yes...I get the symbolism of the "A"). I wanted to find something unique. Toward the end of Hawthorne's life he began to become a bit unhinged. He took to obsessively scribbling the number "64" on scraps of paper. No one knows why. He died in 1864 but he started doing this years before he died. Well, how's that for a unique idea. I love Steve. My idea. My concept. His design.

Coming up next...Alice in Wonderland...Stay tuned.

I decided to start writing poetry again since the incident. I submitted a few to my college writing contest. None of them place but I don't really care about that. They really are very personal and most people, while they get what I'm saying (especially if you know about the mental health trials I've been through) but they don't know what moments or issues inspired them. That's fine too. I'm keeping that to myself. So, without further ado...some of the shorter pieces. I consider these emotional snapshots.

A Doctor's Slice

My doctor sliced my brain into thin slivers.
She threw out the damaged sections.
Like my mother excising dark spots
from the potatoes.
The good parts mashed up
and digested.

I Was Pushed

Someone pushed me down hard.
I bashed my head on memories.
I don't remember if I got back up.

Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking through decay
Wading feet first, ankle deep
Face first.
Wisps of thought, slick from ill use,
neglect and stagnation float in
damp, dank, dark waters.
Moss covered rocks to slip on.
Cold water aches.
Trapped.
Walking forever down this murky river.
Rotting from the outside in.
No end in sight.

One Day

One day I'd like to go outside
And lay down on the ground during a blizzard
And let the falling and drifting snow cover me
And pretend I was never there.

Ah. So about a year has passed since I started this blog. So much to say. So much. This is just your introductory "I'm Back" note. I'll be posting some poetry and stories as well as general "what's going on in my literary world" nonsense. It's good to be back!

Yeah. It is a weird rat with an ear of corn on its back. Discuss.

Welcome to blog number 3? I have a livejournal that I used to write book reviews in but I just haven't felt like writing there. If you want to see the reviews that are there (and there are a bunch) go to http://book-goddess73.livejournal.com/. There's some good stuff. Wish I could import it.

I decided to start again because I'll be back in my English classes this fall. I haven't written about a book in nearly a year. An unfortunate series of events (no pun intended) set me back in regard to my Bi-Polar disorder (hence the "Lunacy" in the blog title). I suffered from a heavy bout of anhedonia along with the deep depression. I couldn't read. At all. I went from 50+ books a year down to February of the year and only two rather short books read. It was probably the worst part of my illness; and the most frustrating. So I've been forcing myself to read more...slowly. I've spent a good deal of time re-reading some old favorites. The first full book I got through was Firestarter by Stephen King (one of my favorite books and authors). It felt good.

So, here will be a blog about the books I have read, what I think of them, and any sort of odds and ends to do with reading, English classes and books in general.