Summer Blogspot: March 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Tattooed Poets Project: Vicki Iorio

We're kicking off this year's Tattooed Poets Project with a tattoo that seems, ahem, apropos-etic:

This poetic foot belongs to Vicki Iorio, a New York poet. She explains the tattoo:

"My group of Long Island poets have the pleasure of reading at the Wyld Chyld Cafe and Tattoo Parlor in Merrick, NY. I watched Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan, the poet laureate of Suffolk County get "poet" tattooed across her shoulder blades. [Tammy will be appearing on the site later this month.] She recited poetry while her back was bleeding, I knew at that moment I would have to get one!

It was a cold January night, Sixx tattooed my right foot with a beautiful scripted "poet." It was a beautiful moment and I love my tat and all it signifies. A slew of woman poets have been tattooed by Sixx. A tattooed sisterhood, indeed."

Here is a poem from Vicki:

Tattoo 56

I will get a tattoo next birthday
no one will care
it won't be like birthday 13
when I dyed my hair purple on a shoplift heist
shaved off eyebrows
pierced frozen ears with a needle
hacked off bushy black fur under stockings

I will find an illustrated man
his head bald and shiny
eyes so blue I will see straight through
to his good heart, diamond stud in one ear
massive arms shocking to the touch.

My spider will go willingly to his fly.
I will tell him what I want
where I want it.

After validating plastic worth,
my pirate will lead me to his table
gift me with little hurts
celebrate me electrically
wrap me in gauze
sing the praises of Bacitracin
wish me a happy birthday.

Vicki Iorio is a Long Island poet who hangs around tattoo parlors. Her poems have been published in various publications including hell strung and crooked. She is saving up for another tattoo!

Thanks to Vicki for sharing her poetic tattoo and tattoo poem with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

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Tattoos I Know: Beth's Ink Ushers in the New Baseball Season

Well, folks, it's March 31, which means several things, First and foremost, after a long, cold winter, and a rough start to spring, baseball season starts today. And although, the last time I checked, there was a 70% chance of rain for the New York Yankees home opener against the Detroit Tigers today, baseball fans everywhere are just a tad excited that their team's 162 game-long drama is about to begin.

So, it seemed fitting that we share this tattoo, belonging to our cousin Beth:

Photo by Melanie Cohen

Beth is a diehard Yankees fan and she got this inked on September 16, 2005. For the record, the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays north of the border that day 11-10 thanks, in part, to two Robinson Cano home runs and Mariano Rivera's 40th save of the year.

This is one of Beth's three tattoos, a fact not lost on me, as I have been wanting to post her ink on the site ever since we started back in 2007. However, we just never got around to it and this photo was shot last June in New Jersey by my wife, Melanie, at another cousin's baby shower. I thought, at the time, that we would save this picture for the day the Yankees won the World Series, but last year that ambition fell short in the ALCS. So we saved it for Opening Day, instead.

The tattoo was done by Thomi Hawk at K & B Tattooing & Piercing in Hightstown, New Jersey.

I should also add that, back in August 2007, I was sitting in my seat at PNC Bank Arts Center, between sets, when I noticed a very similar tattoo several rows ahead of me. I thought, "Man, that tattoo looks just like Beth's, and in the same spot [on her upper right back] too!" Of course, it was Beth, and we were both unaware that we were attending the show. And to think I spotted her in all that humanity by noticing her tattoo!

I mentioned at the top of the post that it being March 31, meant several things. Aside from Opening Day, it's also opening day for the inkspotting season, as far as I'm concerned. Posts have been few and far between over the past few months and that's about to change. Tomorrow begins National Poetry Month, and we will be embarking on our third annual Tattooed Poets Project: 30 days of tattoos from poets across the country. And, I will assume, that I'll be having regular Tattoosday encounters, which will reappear in May, throughout the month.

Play ball!

Thanks again to Beth for sharing her cool patriotic Yankees tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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