Contrariwise

I've been thinking of getting a tattoo for the last decade or so now. I love the idea of etching something onto myself that I can keep as a permanent reminder. I've known what I want, I just haven't figured out where to put it. A while ago I created the design, based off the title of this blog, but I keep holding back because I want to find the perfect place to put it. As you know, once it's on there, it stays.

So knowing that I was interested in tattoos and that I love books, my little sister pointed out the website Contrariwise to me. For those of you who don't know, the title is a reference to Alice in Wonderland. "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrariwise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” The website shows off book-related and literary tattoos, like the Alice in Wonderland themed beauty below.

Based on the John Tenniel drawing.

Others contain only words like this great section of a poem (A Psalm of Life) by Longfellow below.

The tattoos run the gambit from a simple word to elaborate pictures, often taken from the illustration or simply made up. But all of them are book related. Most of them I would be more than happy to have adorning my body. A couple of the tattoos have led me to seek out new authors and books. I am fascinated by the variety of styles and by the number of authors represented. A fantastic site with some inspiring and fun tattoos.

A wild thing from Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

Alice Art

'Be what you would seem to be'--or if you'd like it put more simply--'Never
imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others
that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had
been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.'"---The Duchess

For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan (I know I've mentioned it before). Alice's Adventure in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are two books that I re-read regularly. I make it a point to see each film adaption no matter how strange or unusual. For the record I have not yet seen the new Tim Burton adaption yet. I don't do the theaters so I'll have wait until it comes out on video. Although it looks strange enough for me to enjoy.

The really wonderful thing about Alice is that there are so many adaptions to choose from, both print and film. More illustrators, filmmakers, and artists have tackled Alice over the years than almost any other book in history. It is rife with possibilities. And each new version offers something new. There is the original manuscript, available online as part of the British Museum's Turning the Pages series. That version includes black and white illustrations drawn by Lewis Carroll himself. See below.

There is the original published version which included the work of the amazingly talented Sir John Tenniel (still considered the authoritative work on Alice).


But there are others who have tackled Alice with differing effects. This poster by Honor Appleton is one that I've been looking to purchase for years now but didn't know the artist.

We all know this particular version of Alice. Disney may be a child's first introduction to these classic works but it tends to be the one that was the least faithful to the book.



For film versions I own the star-studded 1999 television version directed by Nick Willing. This offered us Gene Wilder as the Mock Turtle, Peter Ustinov as Walrus, Ben Kingsley as Caterpillar, Martin Short as the Mad Hatter, Miranda Richardson as the Queen of Hearts, and Whoopi Goldberg as the odd choice for Cheshire Cat. It was also one of the more faithful adaptions I've seen.


I recently reviewed the new SyFy version of Alice here which strayed so far from the book that only character names were identifiable.

What got me thinking about this post was a new website that I found on Monday. Lauren Harman is an illustrator and designer who also has a passion for Alice art. She has put together one of the most impressive collections of Alice artwork that I've ever seen. Much of the images here came from her site. If you are even remotely interested in the Alice motif, I would recommend stopping by. If nothing else it was amazing to see the sheer variety of styles and images. Everyone from Barry Moser to Arthur Rackham have tried their hand. And Alice will continue to inspire artists into the future. I can't wait to see what they come up with.

Poetry Friday

I'm a huge Lewis Carroll fan, which I'm sure I've mentioned before. So today's poem is one of his. This is from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and is recited by Alice to the Caterpillar. I just love the nonsense of it. The image below the poem is a portion of one of the illustrations by Sir John Tenniel that graced the original work.

You Are Old, Father William by Lewis Carroll

'You are old, Father William,' the young man said,'
And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head -
Do you think, at your age, it is right?''

In my youth,' Father William replied to his son,'
I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.''

You are old,' said the youth, 'as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -
Pray, what is the reason of that?''

In my youth,' said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,'
I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment - one shilling the box -
Allow me to sell you a couple?''

You are old,' said the youth, 'and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -
Pray how did you manage to do it?''

In my youth,' said his father, 'I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life.''

You are old,' said the youth, 'one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -
What made you so awfully clever?''

I have answered three questions, and that is enough,'
Said his father; 'don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!'