Book Review: The Word Made Flesh

Before I had the hard copy of Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide, I was unsure of what exactly I would be reading. Would I be cradling a sprawling coffee table book with enlarged photographs of bodies adorned with literature inspired tattoos? Would the photos be accompanied with informative captions? Stories? Explanations? Or would the only words we read appear on skin?

Well, what I eventually had in front of me was a charmingly smaller version of a coffee table book, intimidating not in size but rather in volume. A quick flip through reveals hefty paragraphs scattered between tattoos that range in subject matter, placement, and significance. And when I finally combed through each page, I concluded this book will be on my coffee table for a good long while.

Editors Eva Talmadge and Justin Taylor take an enthralling "bare-all" approach to this collection of literary artwork. Each tattoo (or group of tattoos for those habitual inkers) is paired with an explanation of some kind that can range from the meaning behind the piece to funny anecdotes that have come about because of the tattoo. One of my favorites is the story of Robert Emigh who got forearm tattoos of Brian Evenson quotes and then went on to meet Evenson and proudly present his forearms to him to show his appreciation for the man's work. Both Emigh and Evenson's recountings of this experience are included in the book.

One of the reasons The Word Made Flesh continues to be new and exciting with every turn of the page is that it is not an endless parade of "I got this tattoo because..." stories. Just when you're ready for them to switch it up, something new grabs your attention, like the Skin Project, an intriguing tattoo literary experiment that can be seen on the skin of almost 1500 people (at the time this book was published). The flow is broken up and each tattoo becomes its own unique narrative rather than one in a series of similar experiences. Occasionally tattoos are grouped together based on the author or book that inspired them, but nothing really gets lost in the fold; I found myself fascinated in one way or another by almost every story. I will say, however, that it is impossible to like every tattoo you ever see, in real life and in this book, so don't be surprised if you cringe once in a while. Chances are, we are all cringing at different things.

The wide scope and diverse selection of tattoos also brightened up what could have been a series of sappy quotes that we all have seen at one time or another permanently and regrettably etched on someone's skin. There are, of course, quite a few tattooed quotes in this book taken from poems, novels, etc.; however, there are many more interesting tattoos present than there are unfortunate ones. In one instance, a man's entire back was covered in a page from Hamlet. There are also tattoos that display beautiful pieces of art both originals and homages to beloved literary illustrations. I was impressed by the astounding amount of creativity and/or bravery of the participants of this project. And even if readers find fault in some if not the majority of the entries in this book, one of the best outcomes of reading and sharing The Word Made Flesh that I have experienced is the discussions that have blossomed among friends and family about what tattoos we love, which ones we hate, which stories grabbed us, which stories fell flat.

Talmadge and Taylor approached this endeavor in a way that destined this book for a pitch perfect execution. In their introduction, they explain that the popularity of tattoos has grown rapidly, reached demographics that it may not have interested ten or twenty years ago, and spawned specific tattoo trends, which led them to collecting the stories of bookworms and their tattoos. Rather than shunning the recent mainstream acceptance of tattoos and making it out to be the death of an underground movement, they embrace it. They see it as an opportunity to explore the stories of people from all walks of life, all of whom have enough passion for reading and storytelling to keep a piece of it with them and by doing so they share their stories with us.