Cynthia Manick and the Bard on The Tattooed Poets Project

Our next tattooed poet is Cynthia Manick, who shared this tattoo:

Cynthia explains:

I begin to write poetry in high school. It was a way for me to process emotions, to tell stories, and I quickly realized that I always wanted poetry to be a part of my life. But who plans to be a poet as a career? And what if my poetry never left my notebook? A lot of people write just for themselves, not to share with the world. Also, in most Black households the life goal is a 9 to 5 job with benefits. So when I turned eighteen I made a promise to myself with this tattoo to always write, no matter the day job. I got it at a hole-in-the-wall parlor in Spanish Harlem. The definition of bard is poet or one who recites in the oral tradition. Consequently when I have writer's block, I tell myself to snap out of it because of this tattoo! (eventually it works)

Cynthia shared the following poem, which originally appeared in Nine Mile Magazine, Spring 2017, Vol 4:

In My Heaven

    after RC Lewis

Everything begins with

hunger. Some crave Bartlett

pears, trees that breathe,

playing violin on gold roads.

Others only answer to their

animal names, knowing

which heart chamber calls

to the wolf, the sheep,

the jackal. In my heaven

the currency is words–

people sing or recite

verb to noun to buy

burgers and cake, furniture

like wide screen TVs

that show favorite programs

on loop with no commercials-

Soul Train, I Dream of Jeanie,

and Happy Days.

Each corner of heaven

is guarded by statues

of poets. They hold pens

as spears. When you rub

their stoned feet, you hear

dialects-dipped in Marian

Anderson arias.

In my heaven Ms. Rose

plays the numbers

and hits every week.

Our shadows talk to other

shadows,  have smoke-shaped

tea or whiskey at noon.

They visit bonfires

to show their best forms

in the light. When you turn

18, 35 or 68 in my heaven,

you lay on a bed of tobacco

and ivy leaves, and the stems

shelter as you watch stars

fade into each other.

~ ~ ~ 

Cynthia Manick is the author of Blue Hallelujahs (Black Lawrence Press, 2016). A Pushcart nominee with a MFA in Creative Writing from the New School; she has received fellowships from Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, Poets House, MacDowell Colony, and the Vermont Studio Center among others. Manick serves as East Coast Editor of the independent press Jamii Publishing and is Founder of the reading series Soul Sister Revue. A winner of the 2016 Lascaux Prize in Collected Poetry and a 2017 Barbara Memorial Fund Award for Poetry, her work has appeared in the Academy of American Poets' Poem-A-Day Series, African American Review, Bone Bouquet, Callaloo, Muzzle Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

Thanks to Cynthia for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2018 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.

If you are reading this on another website 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.net 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.

Christina Quintana on the Tattooed Poets Project

Our next tattooed poet is Christina Quintana:

This is a cool photo, in which you can see two of Christina's tattoos. Let's let Christina explain while we take a closer look:

"My first tattoo was all about being in the present. 

I'm a terribly nostalgic person, so I'm constantly trying to be here now. I'm also obsessed with mail (see: The Perpetual Postcard Project). I wanted to make my tattoo a mail stamp that appeared to have been sent, like you see on postcards past and present. The date reflects the date I got the tattoo and where I was: New York, NY. When I first got the tattoo, my therapist joked (since I'm a gender non-confirming person), you're officially 'mail'!

I chose the buffalo grazing on the notepad because the bison is my spirit animal. It may sound silly, but my whole life I have revered these creatures. As a small, high energy person, there is something about the bison's formidable size and peacefulness that has always awed me. When thinking about the tattoo, I loved the juxtaposition of this animal I adore alongside my passion/career-- a reminder to keep steady along this wild life journey.

Sue (@sweetsuetattoo) from East River Tattoo (@eastrivertattoo), a fantastic shop out in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is the artist of both of my tattoos. I'm dreaming on a third and will likely go back to her. I can't recommend her enough if you're looking for an original black and white. She was so jazzed about getting the draft right for my bison--it was wonderful. We named him Mortimer right there in the shop!"

I can't agree with Christina more. I actually met Sue Jeiven in Penn Station back in 2011 and featured one of her tattoos here and some of her work in 2013 here.

Christina also shared the following poem:

Other Off

Wouldn’t you love to unzip

your other off,

like a whisp of smoke,

when no one was looking?

You wonder,

Which parts can you peel off,

Like a mask,

And which parts are permanent.

What is

Passing?

What is

Choice?

I’d like to be done with

the ideas you

have about me

and what you

say is my “lifestyle”

but is really my life.

I’d like to believe

you weren’t looking

pale when

my partner

and I kissed

across the table

from you

and your fiancé.

I’d like to know

that we are equals,

and really believe it.

~ ~ ~

Christina Quintana is a New York-based writer with Cuban and Louisiana roots. She is the author of the poetry chapbook, The Heart Wants (Finishing Line Press 2016). Her poetry and prose has appeared in Front Porch Journal, Saw Palm, Foglifter, and Nimrod International Journal, among others. For more, visit cquintana.com.

Thanks to Christina for contributing to the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2017 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Where Gabe Johnson Comes From (The Tattooed Poets Project)

Our next tattooed poet is Gabe Johnson, who sent us this photo of a very interesting tattoo:

Gabe explains:

"This tattoo represents how where I come from influences my being and writing, as well as my relationship with writing. The ink flowing into my veins is a metaphor I’ve often thought about as a young writer – feeling like my poems were something coming out of me that had laid dormant inside. Within the ink are two symbols of where I come from. The Viking ship represents my Icelandic heritage, which seems to me like my poetic lineage. The Icelandic people value poetry incredibly highly, and most of my direct relatives along that part of my family are or were involved in poetry in some fashion, whether as writers, publishers or teachers. The oak tree represents Northern California in general, where I grew up and where I have spent all of my life. The landscape, flora, and fauna of oak grasslands especially feel like home to me, and influence my writing greatly. I chose the specific design because I wanted a very simple look of a pen and ink drawing, which a friend of mine drew, and the tattoo artist (Sam McWilliams @sammcwilliams of Mermaids Tattoo @mermaidstattoo in SF) reproduced beautifully."

Gabe also sent us this short poem:

Rehabilitation

Begin again with all your breath. Trace the coast’s soft shoulders, the fogless cove and columbine. Your knee will follow, kiss the sand—shards like nettles on new skin. The highway lined by tiger-lily, oak like moss on slumping hills becomes sequoia, thimbleberry trails. You know each river rock was named, saw scaled bodies leap against the flow. You’ll set your newest scar against lost particles.

~ ~ ~

Gabe Johnson lives in Oakland, teaching English and US History to 8th graders. He is a graduate of the MFA program at Saint Mary’s College of California and his work can be found in Switchback, Philadelphia Stories, White Stag, and Poecology.

Thanks to Gabe for sharing his tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday's Tattooed Poets Project!

This entry is ©2017 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

No Hope But Home

I met Matthew walking through Penn Station last week. He has several tattoos, and shared this one with me:


On his right arm, this traditional nautical star has been embellished with several design elements that personalize the tattoo.

The banner "No Hope but Home" refers to lyrics from a song by a New Jersey band called Scream Hello.

The nautical star is accompanied by a knitting needle and a fountain pen. These two objects refer to his parents. The knitting needle speaks to his mother who is a homemaker and also knits as a hobby. The fountain pen alludes to his father, who is a writer professionally, and also
writes for pleasure.

The nautical star, traditionally worn by sailors to serve as a talisman to find a way home, serves a figurative purpose here, pointing toward, while also emphasizing the hopefulness of home, but also the importance of Matthew's parents in his life.

This cool tattoo was inked by John Reardon at Saved Tattoo, in Brooklyn. Work from Saved has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Matthew for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tattoorism 101: Alli's Ink

Here's another installment of Tattoorism. Alli sent me these photos at the beginning of October, so I appreciate her patience while I've taken the time to post these. I'll let Alli speak for herself:

Hey there,

I'm an avid Tattoosday reader. I, like many others, enjoy the stories that connect us all through one mutual love: tattoos.

I have three tattoos, my first inking done at 16 in Durham, North Carolina. I don't exactly remember the name of the shop, it was really underground and kind of shady. It's the old flag saying "don't tread on me," inspired by a respect for my veteran father and love for American war history. It's on my left foot:


My second tattoo was done at Glenn's Tattoo Service Inc. in Carrboro, North Carolina by the artist Paulie Andrew. A few weeks after my 18th birthday, I went in with a friend and saw this design on the wall. I immediately asked about it, and he told me everyone always compliments it, but no one had gotten it tattooed yet. I sat on it, went back the next day, and got it tattooed on my upper back in dedication of the bond shared between my father, my sister Carly, and myself:


Through our lives, the changes in characters have been so many, but we always stuck together. Elephants are a sign of good luck, too, which is always a plus. :)


[That's the tattoo at the top of the post, as well.]

My last tattoo was inked in Athens, Ohio. Can't remember the name of the parlor right now, but it was my second day of college. Inspired by the possibility of my dreams of becoming a writer coming true, the start of real life, I got one of my favorite quotes tattooed on my right underarm:


"So it goes" is from the works [first introduced in Slaughterhouse-Five] of Kurt Vonnegut, one of my favorite authors of all time. Reading Vonnegut is one of the reasons I came to this school to pursue writing as a career, and it's also how I like to handle what life throws at me. This tattoo was also prompted by the New Buffalo song "Cheer Me Up Thank You," which I think is absolutely amazing. [Here's the video:]




Sorry about the poor focus of the pictures. If it makes the cut for the site, feel free to crop. My camera is under repair right now, so it was just randoms I found!

Thanks so much.

Alli

Thanks, Alli, for sharing your ink here with us at Tattoosday! And thank you for waiting so patiently for me to process your post!

Vaj Shares His Interpretation of the Creative Process

The triptych above (ok, it's not technically a triptych, but I am calling it that as I divided it into three sections) belongs to Vaj (rhymes with Dodge), a filmmaker who I met across the street from Macy*s on 34th Street and 7th Avenue early last week.

This piece was inked about 16 years ago in California by Jeff Rassier, who currently works out of Black Heart Tattoo in San Francisco.

Vaj, who has been in the entertainment business for many years, based his tattoo on the interpretation of the creative process.

The center of the tattoo contains a jar with two brains:

moving up and out of the jar is a an arm, at the end of which is a hand holding paper:


Moving down out of the jar is an arm, at the end of which is a hand holding a pen, which is dripping ink:


The two hands, each with pen and paper, are acting out the creative process, stemming from the two sides of the brain.

Thanks to Vaj for sharing this interpretation in his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!