The new book “Pen & Ink,” by Isaac Fitzgerald and Wendy MacNaughton, collects the stories behind the tattoos of writers, artists, and others, alongside illustrations of their adorned body parts. In the introduction, Cheryl Strayed—who shares the tale of her horse tattoo below—describes the project as a form of people watching. To learn the hidden meaning behind the markings on the bodies of strangers is, she writes, to get a glimpse of “the mysterious and the banal, the public face and the private gesture, the strangest other and the most familiar self.” Here is a selection of stories from the book, of tattoos inspired by trauma, heartbreak, and a passion for pizza:
All images from “Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them,” by Isaac Fitzgerald and Wendy MacNaughton, out October 7th, from Bloomsbury USA.
