This week, the first online poetry & tattoo literary journal, Holly Rose Review (HRR), released its second issue, topping its premier issue of Dec. 2008, which I wrote about on Needled here.

The theme for this June edition is "passion." Editor Theresa Edwards, who puts out the HRR with partner Toni Turner, discusses this thread that weaves the tattoos and poetry together:

The poems in this issue are reminiscent, sensual, and they express the many meanings of emotion and what true passion is: a longing for a person, a purpose, a remote possibility that love, desire, even the self is strong and steadfast.

The art unleashes anger, fear, love, and determination. The face, a part of the body that expresses a swarm of emotions, has found its place on many of these pages.

The stunning Hanya backpiece on the cover is by Shane Tan, whose work also illustrates the poetry of Daphne Lazarus. You can actually see the beautiful, tattooed writer recite her work on her poetry page.

In fact, that's one of my favorite features of this edition: audio and video files of the poets reading their contributions adds another dimension to the HRR experience.

The tattooists involved in this issue, in addition to Shane Tan, are Seven Beckham, Chris Belville, Cengiz Eyvazov, Luba Goldina, Maxime Lanouette, Soul Expressions, and Shotsie Gorman. Considering Shotsie is also a poet, I'd love to see the next edition feature his writing and tattoos.

For full bios and links to the tattooists, illustrators and poets, check the contributors page.

Enjoy the art and poetry, and have a wonderful weekend!