Literature for life--literally

By: Heidi Schallberg

Posted: 4/12/04

Four people in the Department of English are taking last week's "Literature for Life" theme literally by tattooing words from a short story on their bodies.

Two students and two professors have volunteered to "become words" from "Skin," a 2,095-word short story by Brooklyn writer Shelley Jackson. Participants in the project are given one word from the short story to tattoo on their bodies--but none of them get to read the story until the project is complete.

Jackson refers to the 1,600 people so far who have volunteered for the project as "words." Even if you later have the tattoo removed, you're still considered a "word" in the story, and her story will eventually change as the participants die.

"The subtitle [of the story] is 'a mortal work of art,' but really all works of art are mortal. They all disappear," George H. Williams, an associate professor in the English department, explained.

To become a word, participants e-mail Jackson describing why they want to participate. The author then sends a release form to selected participants. Once they send in the release form, volunteers receive their words from Jackson, which they must tattoo in black ink and in a classic book font.

Professor Williams talked about the "Skin" project in his 18th Century Novel class last fall after seeing it online. Jarrod Roark, a senior majoring in English, said, "Everyone in class was like, 'That's crazy!' or 'That's stupid.' " But the idea of being part of living art appealed to Roark, who quickly said he'd do it.

Roark got the word "they" from Jackson and had it tattooed prominently on his forearm before the end of the year. The word has been a good conversation starter, and "I enjoy the fact that it's ambiguous and has no meaning."

Jackson includes the punctuation marks in the story along with some of the words, and Williams' word-"pen"-was followed by a question mark. While his word is less ambiguous than Roark's, Williams said, "What's interesting is the meaning would depend on the context." But, appropriately enough for an English professor, "It's about as direct a tool for writing as you can have."

Williams is waiting to get his tattoo with his colleague, Laurie Ellinghausen, who is also an assistant professor in the English Department. Ellinghausen is still waiting to receive her word from Jackson, who has temporarily stopped responding to volunteers due to a severe repetitive stress injury in her arm.

As soon as Ellinghausen heard about the project from Williams, she thought, "I have to do this." The project coincided with the sudden death of her grandmother and during Ellinghausen's first year in Kansas City. "Transitional years are both painful and joyous at the same time and are important to remember," she said. Being part of the "Skin" project is like joining a "textual community."

To the "words" of the story, it's bigger than just a tattoo. Williams observed that the project draws attention to the impermanence of text, since even a name carved in a tombstone will eventually crumble. And since the most important early texts were inscribed on the skin of living creatures, Williams points out that "this is a nice invocation of that practice."

Yet not everyone sees the community in getting a random word tattooed on your body for life. All three have heard at least a few negative reactions from people who hear about the project. An online literary magazine, Yankee Pot Roast, even satired "Skin" by writing a short story on a volunteer's body in magic marker.

hschallberg@unews.com