WORMS is the name of an event billed as “an interactive literary magazine in 3-D.” Every month, typically on a Wednesday, the basement of the Bell Foundry is opened for an evening of spoken word and other shenanigans. The evening’s host and editor, R. M. O’Brien, usually begins with an introduction that is two parts editorial and one part late-night showbiz. For the most recent incarnation of WORMS, O’Brien read from the letters of Saint Patrick, in honor of what O’Brien referred to as “the day the Irish celebrate the demise of their ancestral religion.” He mentioned the snakes, which are like worms, that Saint Patrick is said to have driven out of Ireland, the snakes that never existed there, that is. Someone heckled, “except for the two-legged kind.” This is an unusual sort of editorial, performed on stage; interactive, and although any editorial might be enjoyed with Natty Boh in a basement, these can be enjoyed in the company of a wriggling, live audience.

Photo by Tedd Henn, story by Dylan Kinnett.

Chris Toll was the first performer who read from his forthcoming book, from the Publishing Genius press, The Disinformation Phase. This performance was also filmed so that it could be used for promotion. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, let alone its author, but just this once, let’s do exactly that. The landscape on the cover of this book depicts the surface of another planet. That planet is inhabited by a clown, a tiger, a giant amphibious creature straddling something that looks like a cactus, an aardvark, a nun, or perhaps a nurse, a tiger, the invisible man, two different species of birds, Yoda, a flying saucer and yes, a snake, which is like a worm. The poetry of Chris Toll is just as imaginatively populated as this tableau. It is populated by unusual imagery, from which the cover is derived, no doubt. The poetry is also populated by Toll’s startling inquisitions of the language. For example, in a poem entitled Why is Try in Poetry the question is posed: “why is love backwards in evolve?” The title and that line are just two examples, among many, where Toll playfully examines the presence of one word within another.

Photo by Tedd Henn, story by Dylan Kinnett.

The second performer, Dave K. read a recently published short story entitled Harrison Ford is
Naked. He says that you need to imagine that the title is read to you in the voice that announces the movie previews. The tale is one of candid, detached irregularity. Its narrator is an artist, of sorts, whose occupation involves sculpting cakes, made to order, in the shape of nude bodies, usually men, and in this case, in the shape of an “anatomically generous” Harrison Ford. The story’s author is unquestionably an artist of performance and prose, whose reading left the audience to wonder whether this story is too strange to be true, or not.

Photo by Tedd Henn, story by Dylan Kinnett.

Up next was Buck Downs. Mr. Downs has the honor of being the first WORMS performer to come to the reading from outside of Baltimore. He is the author of several books, including Marijuana Softdrink, Ladies Love Outlaws, and Recreational Vehicle. His style of presentation is something to see, indeed. He paces; he queries his audience with riddles; he moves quickly. The papers he holds while reading seems to be designed for the task. They resemble flashcards more than manuscripts. His poems are short. Here’s one, for example. It’s called “Secondwave Dysphoria.”

sweating it out
until it’s over

I did a double
take with my feet

the way I lost it
a map will not help

Photo by Tedd Henn, story by Dylan Kinnett.

For the finale, we heard from Rupert Wondolowski, who is no stranger to Baltimore’s literary underground, nor to WORMS. This is his second performance there. As the editor of Shattered Wig Review and Press, he can often be found at the i.e. Reading Series or the 14k Cabaret. Wondolowski’s poems have something in common with the poems of the Beat Generation, because of their jazzy, casual, sometimes sarcastic cadences and their references to jazz and jive. The things to listen for, though, are the well-aimed phrases such as “the second time you’re told you’ll drown in a river of blood, it loses some of its chill.” Wondolowski can hardly read six lines without having to pause for the chuckles of the crowd.

Photo by Tedd Henn, story by Dylan Kinnett.

In the movie Roxanne, Steve Martin’s character says “I’m afraid of worm” but he meant to say words. Although this might be where the reading series gets its name, there’s nothing to be afraid of here, even if you have stage fright. In addition to the literary performances to be had at WORMS, there is also something of a carnival of literary publications, zines other miscellaneous publications available for purchase. If you’d like to read, see or hear the writings of these literary performers, and others like them, WORMS might be the best place for you be. More details are available at the other end of this link.

League of the Unsound Sound

Photo by Tedd Henn, story by Dylan Kinnett.

Photo by Tedd Henn, story by Dylan Kinnett.

Photo by Tedd Henn, story by Dylan Kinnett.

Photo by Tedd Henn, story by Dylan Kinnett.