The Tattooed Poets Project: Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan

In the first post of this year's Tattooed Poets Project (<a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2011/04/tattooed-poets-project-vicki-iorio.html">here</a>), Vicki Iorio described watching today's tattooed poet, <a href="http://www.tammynuzzomorgan.com/">Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan</a>, recite verse while being tattooed. Here is that tattoo, along with some others:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6V6mCiZ053O5p09ZHkusW4vjXI23Y88ldsipwart27AbyB84ilgoRCBDzsDdVmILEuwUyVh0HOiW29C3ueA7OdBBvRW4YFnBH_C9esFRDDcRiiYsSD24ZoVShtOFk1m0VR-rTP5C-x7E/s1600/Tammy+poet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6V6mCiZ053O5p09ZHkusW4vjXI23Y88ldsipwart27AbyB84ilgoRCBDzsDdVmILEuwUyVh0HOiW29C3ueA7OdBBvRW4YFnBH_C9esFRDDcRiiYsSD24ZoVShtOFk1m0VR-rTP5C-x7E/s400/Tammy+poet.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph by Mark Wells</td></tr></tbody></table>The word "poet" in the center of the back is self-explanatory and was inked by Syxx, at <a href="http://www.wyldchyldstudios.com/">Wyld Chyld Tattoo Studio</a>. Above that is the name "Joey," who is Tammy's husband. That was done by an artist named Kenny at a shop called Z Connection. The piece on the right is a rose, with the names of Tammy's three children and their birth dates, inked by Bob at <a href="http://www.tattoolous.com/#">Tattoo Lou's</a> on Long Island. Dave at Tattoo Lou's also did the memorial cross for Tammy's son Mike, who was killed in 1995. Tammy also has this tattoo on her foot:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwtbi7ccv2jnyXD48rwBPFs0OVKAPhNfi23b86gXNATt9uvYOP368wmcqABGioCYKVinIRm24dvky7Y5jnQO6TcjnKxZEgB7IISJvuF9Iz6uMap9bQqeRpb5CWi-l3KEFgEbDGxcYxd8/s1600/cat+paw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwtbi7ccv2jnyXD48rwBPFs0OVKAPhNfi23b86gXNATt9uvYOP368wmcqABGioCYKVinIRm24dvky7Y5jnQO6TcjnKxZEgB7IISJvuF9Iz6uMap9bQqeRpb5CWi-l3KEFgEbDGxcYxd8/s400/cat+paw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />That cat paw is for Tammy's cat, Maude, who passed away last October 10, and was done by Jimmy at Wyld Chyld.<br /><br />Tammy also shared some of her poetry:<br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">POEM#6<br /><br />I am not the coca cola girl, <br />the Cheez-It tidbit waiting for you to taste, <br />the limo ride to the Yankee’s game, <br />the wrangler jeans chick baking in the New Mexico sun, <br />and I never was or will be Sunday mornings in spring.<br /><br />I am the time-ticking-away second hand, <br />the flat tire on the side of the road, <br />the too high door jam, <br />the worn-out tooth brush, <br />the 59 cents in the ashtray, <br />the Lunch Poems dog-eared book, <br />and the who never forgets to tell the truth.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">SPOONS <br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">I remember when you spoon-fed me ice-cream as we lay in bed on that rainy afternoon<br />and the way your fingers tasted and your neck had a hint of sweat and I closed my eyes<br />and you drove away the dark and I called your name in a low, soft moan.<br /><br />I remember when you spooned sugar into your morning tea on that sunny Tuesday</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />and I watched you drink as if you were a foreign film I could not understand<br />and your smile told me my poetry made you hunger for more than a nine-to-five life.<br /><br />I remember when you spooned dirt into the flower pot and filled it with mums for me</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />and I was peeking out the window seeing you bent down working away humming<br />and I decided then that I was not who I wanted to be without you in my days and nights<br /><br />And I remember how after you left I packed away all the silverware, including those</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />spoons and I gave the box to the Salvation Army, hoping for some salvation of my own<br />and I drove away from our town knowing I would never see another sunset like you.</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan is a very busy woman. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">She was appointed </span><a href="http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Suffolk</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">County</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> Poet Laureate for 2009 – 2011. She is founder and president of <a href="http://www.tammynuzzomorgan.com/north.htm">The North Sea Poetry Scene, Inc.</a> and The North Sea Poetry Scene Press. She was nominated for Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for her poetry book, <i>Let Me Tell You Something</i>. She is<br />listed in <a href="http://www.pw.org/">Poets & Writers</a>, has penned 4 chapbooks, is Poet-in-Residence at </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1201664158"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Southampton</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.southamptonhistoricalmuseum.org/"> Historical Museum</a>, an adjunct Professor at </span><a href="http://www.briarcliffe.edu/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Briarcliffe</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">College</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">, the editor of the </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1201664165"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Long Island</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.poets.org/viewevent.php/prmEventID/5636"> Sounds Anthology</a>. She hosts TNSPS’s Arts Forum TV Show on Channel 20 on Cablevision in Riverhead, N.Y. and serves as the Lead Poetry Jurist for the <a href="http://www.eastendarts.org/">East End Arts Council</a>, Riverhead, N.Y.<br /><br />Currently, Tammy is creating an archival/arts center (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><a href="http://www.lipoetryarchivalcenter.com/" target="_blank">www.lipoetryarchivalcenter.com</a>)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> for </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Long Island</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> poetry that will be a gathering place for poets. She is also currently working toward an M.F.A. at </span><a href="http://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/southampton/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Southampton</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Stony</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Brook</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">University</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Thanks to Tammy for sharing her work, both written and tattooed, here on Tattoosday!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />If you are reading this on another web site 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 </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> 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.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan

In the first post of this year's Tattooed Poets Project ( here ), Vicki Iorio described watching today's tattooed poet, Tammy Nuzzo-...

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Niki's Memorial for Elizabeth

Last week I was down in Chelsea when I spotted Niki from a distance. She appeared to have a colorful Madonna-like tattoo on her right shoulder, so I changed course and caught up to her only to discover this lovely tattoo instead:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-npwzEefFtmRWK5LT6BNxL-4SHm5SY_CR2lLVLqaSCDxbmsNj2af1YwBWAJpWH2QRkRffUBPrisDjWWQwAy5sbdq_Kg63IRLCxXQvuzy-3KY-WXASyEH7vFE506sEkWOdQ_lsz6gW/s1600/34659_10150249155630553_721910552_13627607_93070_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-npwzEefFtmRWK5LT6BNxL-4SHm5SY_CR2lLVLqaSCDxbmsNj2af1YwBWAJpWH2QRkRffUBPrisDjWWQwAy5sbdq_Kg63IRLCxXQvuzy-3KY-WXASyEH7vFE506sEkWOdQ_lsz6gW/s640/34659_10150249155630553_721910552_13627607_93070_n.jpg" width="427" /></a></div><br />This lovely photo was supplied to me by Niki, as my own camera's battery had run out of power and my BlackBerry photo seemed inadequate:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSpoDDpTtpyK-Ev-MYQdTOYAa4fnBa4eVdNVsof3h_T2L2Xmjn1aEMMCZ6NU9sDZWDNpTVUBolr8SyiDXr33xXim1ZS-8fZ8kjFGvZC-Q2y2rX7se_1fTZpt3BwATW3b_33W1ktBdi/s1600/Elizabeth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSpoDDpTtpyK-Ev-MYQdTOYAa4fnBa4eVdNVsof3h_T2L2Xmjn1aEMMCZ6NU9sDZWDNpTVUBolr8SyiDXr33xXim1ZS-8fZ8kjFGvZC-Q2y2rX7se_1fTZpt3BwATW3b_33W1ktBdi/s400/Elizabeth.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br />Niki explained that, after her beloved cat Elizabeth passed away, she wanted a memorial tattoo to honor the friend she had for fourteen years.<br /><br />She went to artist <a href="http://www.johnreardontattoos.com/">John Reardon</a>, then at <a href="http://www.savedtattoo.com/">Saved Tattoo</a>, and told him she wanted a memorial in the style of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe">Virgin of Guadalupe</a>, and the look of Mexican shrines and altars.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp34V9gK7zCddHNnWo-wrYuVP-Rh0cnmmQjwLO91FNY_0-FVViQBozB8RMWIAJtkoMzmG030mW-fRiRVAwUpEtFFe8HluK4VLDjTFN8iOpjucKEw00UPaLUXyJrs1PxwJIsCJVJOO2/s1600/Virgen_de_guadalupe1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp34V9gK7zCddHNnWo-wrYuVP-Rh0cnmmQjwLO91FNY_0-FVViQBozB8RMWIAJtkoMzmG030mW-fRiRVAwUpEtFFe8HluK4VLDjTFN8iOpjucKEw00UPaLUXyJrs1PxwJIsCJVJOO2/s400/Virgen_de_guadalupe1.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><br />One can see Reardon hit the ball out of the park, as proven by my mistaking the piece from a distance as a religious icon.<br /><br />John Reardon is no stranger to Tattoosday. His work has appeared previously <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/12/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-tattoo-with.html">here</a> and <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/11/no-hope-but-home.html">here</a>.He now works out of his private studio in Brooklyn.<br /><br />Thanks to Niki for sharing her beautiful tattoo with us on Tattoosday!

Niki's Memorial for Elizabeth

Last week I was down in Chelsea when I spotted Niki from a distance. She appeared to have a colorful Madonna-like tattoo on her right should...

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A Cat Named Do

I met Shawn in Penn Station near the Amtrak terminal earlier this month. He was doing what most people are doing when I stop them in Penn Station: waiting for a train.<br /><br />He was with who I will presume to be his wife and toddler son. I noticed he had tattoos on his arms so I approached him and told him about Tattoosday.<br /><br />With his wife's encouragement, he pulled up his shirt to reveal this astonishingly unique tattoo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9TZYk34mOuhHKr_2O72gOgGT_Tc0JETN4CUhbazLsp4HdlHB6TNLDLwjDt3Gw-YH9VSQlq6gQyiMh4Lgr6wWettG7dh8heJ-6-XNbHbdz1UMvKojDJejL_Ri5XI6Ql3lc54Gx1AN/s1600/Do+the+Cat+original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9TZYk34mOuhHKr_2O72gOgGT_Tc0JETN4CUhbazLsp4HdlHB6TNLDLwjDt3Gw-YH9VSQlq6gQyiMh4Lgr6wWettG7dh8heJ-6-XNbHbdz1UMvKojDJejL_Ri5XI6Ql3lc54Gx1AN/s640/Do+the+Cat+original.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br />Shawn drew this design himself. As a person who liked cats, this feline is based on a cat that he once had named "Do" (as in "How do you do?").<br /><br />"What happened to Do?" I asked.<br /><br />Shawn looked over at his son and said, sadly, "Do was not a family cat."<br /><br />Some feline house pets do not like new babies and do not hide that fact. Since we are taught as a society that babies are more precious than pets, they gave Do up to another home. The cat to the left of Do in the tattoo is "Do's shadow".<br /><br />Not just any cat tattoo, Shawn's design is artistic, with clocks for eyes and machinery rumbling away in Do's insides.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYfPSSRFpZf3M5zUBQ_PRQdfymb24Ye_bXdmQiwcHofv5UkObZGzZ2nTctJAjm5AZLfOFf5huQ4Ny_sPgEuJzfmZB6YKEDPpMmoGXpAkjAUY9cwsupq0WjCwn_nRtRo5kUOU-aZMaq/s1600/Do+the+Cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYfPSSRFpZf3M5zUBQ_PRQdfymb24Ye_bXdmQiwcHofv5UkObZGzZ2nTctJAjm5AZLfOFf5huQ4Ny_sPgEuJzfmZB6YKEDPpMmoGXpAkjAUY9cwsupq0WjCwn_nRtRo5kUOU-aZMaq/s640/Do+the+Cat.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><br />Shawn also has ink on his back, one leg, and arms (including a sleeve).<br /><br />This piece was tattooed in 12-14 hours by Davie mac at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/daviemactats">Davie Mac's Tattoos</a> in Niagara Falls, New York.<br /><br />Thanks to Shawn for sharing Do with us here on Tattoosday!

A Cat Named Do

I met Shawn in Penn Station near the Amtrak terminal earlier this month. He was doing what most people are doing when I stop them in Penn St...

Read more »