Edgar Allan Poe

I think that everyone has certain authors and poets that they love more than others. For me, as a literature major, I have many, but one that truly speaks to me is Edgar Allan Poe. There is something about his work that makes me get goosebumps. Probably because he writes in a wide spectrum of genres. His work has an overall Gothic theme, which I love, and it is all beautifully written.

Edgar Allan Poe was not greatly recognized in his time, like many writers, his work was not praised until after he died. Nobody saw the brilliance of his work. He is one of my favorite American authors.

My left arm is almost completely covered in tattoos. These tattoos are metaphors of myself as a writer. My first piece is a raven locked inside a bird cage. I chose a raven because I love Poe, and the Raven is his most iconic work. I feel like society puts all English and Literature majors, writers, poets, and artists all into a cage, like a specific category.  People belittle me because I am an English literature major, they assume I will not be successful. My raven in a bird cage illustrates my passion for literature and how I feel caged by society.

My next piece was a dia de Muertos, day of the dead, girl. I love sugar skulls and I love Mexican art. This sleeve is going to be all connected to Poe, and I like that I put this girl on my arm because she represents the overwhelming theme of death in his work. Traditionally,  this piece is supposed to be in memory of a lost loved one. One of my favorite poems is Anabelle Lee, this could be a tribute to that poem, or it could just be there for my liking. I like this piece and think it flows well with the rest of my sleeve.

My most recent addition, which I just got this past Saturday, is a raven flying  with feathers going everywhere. I told my tattoo artist to create something that I would love that goes with the rest of the theme. He drew this up. I loved it. It goes with the bird cage and it is like I am breaking out of my cage. The placement is perfect, he put it right under the bird cage, and it looks like the bird is escaping from the cage.The perfect simile right?  I absolutely love it and I am so excited for my next piece.

Yesterday, I was thinking about my tattoos and decided to watch this youtube video that a fellow classmate showed the class a few semesters ago. I will put the video with the blog http://http://youtu.be/wDLLHTdVSgU. It is great!  Well that is all I have for now about my little obsession with Edgar Allan Poe…