Philip Jenks' Emily Dickinson Tattoo, For All To See!

If you're fortunate enough to know Philip Jenks, chances are very good that you've seen the tattoo portrait of Emily Dickinson that covers the entirety of his back. And, if you've never seen it in person, you can now see it here, in a small feature from Time Out Chicago.

From the write-up, in which Jenks defends Dickinson, or the perception of Dickinson:

“It always has made me feel awful how her name and work specifically has been treated in history,” says Jenks, a poet and lecturer in the English department at UIC. The 43-year-old owns rare collections of Dickinson’s manuscripts and will point out to anyone who’ll listen the extent to which her work and image have been misrepresented since her death in 1886. “I always felt this has to do with power and gender,” he says, “her being cast as a timid woman in a white dress.”

Here is another look at the ink ode.

In addition to being a great poet, Philip is also a wonderful dancer.