Author of "Tattoo Machine" Jeff Johnson Reads at the Bend Branch on July 27th
Posted By: Lisa McGean
Date Posted: 7/16/2009
The Deschutes Public Library is proud to present Portland author Jeff Johnson, who will be reading from his new memoir, “Tattoo Machine: Tall Tales, True Stories and My Life in Ink” on July 27th at the Bend Public Library. The reading will take place in the Brooks Room at 6:30 p.m., and is free and open to the public.
According to Jeff Johnson, “Every tattoo has a story. Every cover has two.” As the proprietor of the legendary Sea Tramp Tattoo Company, debut author Johnson has inked gang members, professional athletes, nervous co-eds, age-defying moms, newlyweds and sociopaths. With stories from the shop, outrageous and sometimes dangerous clients, and the tattoo trade, Johnson gives a first-hand account of an American tradition that has undergone a rebirth. “Tattoo Machine” is a sharp, funny memoir about personal redemption that goes straight to the heart of the industry and the menagerie of fascinating and bizarre characters who inhabit it, told by a guy who rose from the gutters of teenage crime to become a leading visual artist and a successful entrepreneur.
Advance praise for “Tattoo Machine” has been overwhelmingly positive: Publisher’s Weekly says “First-time author and veteran tattoo artist Johnson has a million tales of the tattoo demimonde….Johnson’s stingingly profane prose, storytelling chops and offbeat sensibility definitely get under the reader’s skin.”
Gus Van Sant adds, “An amazing firsthand account of all the thing you wondered about tattoo shops. I loved it.” And Portland author of “Geek Love” Katherine Dunn says, “Meticulously observed, savagely funny, and deeply compassionate…a tale of up-from-under redemption through the shadowed art of personal symbolism. Jeff Johnson is a sharp-eye master tattoo artist and extraordinary writer.”
For questions about this or other library programs, or ADA information, please contact Lisa McGean at lisam@dpls.us or 312-1034.