Words author Andy Devine headlined this month's WORMS literary reading at the Bell Foundry Wednesday night. Local writers Heather Rounds, Lola Pierson and Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez also read their work.

The Bell Foundry is a non-descript building on the corner of Calvert and Federal streets, and between having to knock for entry and walking through what feels like someone's living room to the basement, there's a certain giddy thrill to attending events there. This must have been what speakeasies were like. The Bell Foundry's basement looks more like a punkhouse than a literary salon, but it's an effective and intimate space and the hosts are certainly gracious.

Robert O'Brien, who organizes the WORMS readings, opened with a selection from Christopher Smart's free verse poem, "Jubilate Agno." O'Brien explained that the poem was written during Smart's stay in a mental asylum, and summarized the chosen excerpt as a section where “[Smart] starts prophesying that we're all going to get our horns back.” The jokes write themselves.

Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez was the evening's first official reader, and he brought a series of projections with phrases like “New Dead Bum” and “Language Is Whatever” arranged on them. Alvarez described this project as “drawing poems instead of writing them,” but he also shared some conventionally-written poetry from his chapbook.

Heather Rounds followed, reading some excerpts from a story set in Kurdistan, which, she was quick to point out, is not where Borat is from. She also took votes from the audience as to what she read, offering descriptors like “stories about bars” and “suicide” for context.

Before intermission, O'Brien implored the audience to stop by the merch table and to spread the word about WORMS, even if it meant tagging billboards.

Playwright and Bell Foundry resident Lola Pierson came on after intermission, and read two experimental pieces; one was a conflation of shampoo instructions and personal reflections about relationships and family, and the other began with the narrator recounting how she'd gotten her hair caught in a jacuzzi drain as a child. Pierson has a gift for balancing humor with brutal-yet-tender honesty, and it was well showcased here.

Andy Devine ended the evening with selections from Words, released by Publishing Genius in April 2010. His assertion that “only jackasses use 'whom'” almost got a standing ovation from the audience, and the jaw-numbing repetition of his instructional word banks got funnier and more musical as it went on. Prior to his reading, a free promotional copy of his book was given out to the first audience member who raised their hand.

This is exactly the sort of atmosphere O'Brien wants the series to foster. He hopes that WORMS can maintain a “relaxed vibe” as it becomes “a way for writers from a lot of different communities within Baltimore to get together, and for writers to connect with non-writers.”

The next WORMS reading will take place at the Bell Foundry on Feb. 16, and will feature Robert Schreur.