When: Poems

By Baron Wormser

Book Overview

Baron Wormser is the author of three previous collections of poetry: The White Words (Houghton Mifflin, 1983), Good Trembling (Houghton Mifflin, 1985), and Atoms, Soul Music, and Other Poems (Paris Review Editions, 1989). Born and raised in Baltimore, he earned his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, his M.A. in English from the University of California, and his M.A. in Library Service from the University of Maine. His poems, essays, and reviews have appeared in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, Harper's, The New Republic, and The Georgia Review. Currently, Wormser lives with his wife in Mercer, Maine, in their house which is powered by a two-panel solar unit and is located on forty-five acres of Maine woods. He is a Buddhist affiliated with the Kwan Um Zen school and works as a librarian for a rural school district.

"When is a mix of autobiography and good old storytelling that never forgets a basic writerly tenet: locality is the only universality. Whether the subject is Beethoven's maid hearing strange sounds, a deli waiter bemoaning his work or Wormser as a boy walking through Pikesville, Md., and imagining it's Baudelaire's Paris, the action in each poem is unique in its specific details. The insights the characters achieve, however, and the emotions they feel are universal. . . . Graced with humor, lust, and bracing
narrative momentum, Wormser's poetry presents a menagerie of wonderfully familiar strangers."-Publishers Weekly

"A steadfast characteristic of Baron Wormser's poetry is his absolute honesty. In When, . . . he puts aside any expectations of poetic prettiness to take a clear, linguistically fresh look at issues such as AIDS, Vietnam, the ethics of fast-food consumption, and the seduction of Vegas. . . . Wormser's love of the world is evident, despite the searing light that he shines upon it."-Small Press Editor's Recommended Book, Amazon.com

"The title When derives from Wormser's obsession with history. . . . This historical sense permeates his poems; it is critical to his approach to poetry. He is, in a manner of speaking, a time traveler. . . . Wormser makes references to people, objects, and events that define the time:

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1889330043
• ISBN13: 9781889330044
• Release Date: September 1997
• Publisher: Sarabande Books
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Necessary Poet

Wormser's When is an absolutely stunning and wondrous collection. In these poems you will meet unforgettable characters, and experience heart-breaking episodes of life in this late 20th Century. As deeply crafted as they are felt, the poems in When reward rereading without requiring it for understanding. If you teach, use these poems--students respond to them, and they are solid, graceful and worthy models. If you just love poetry, don't waste another day deprived of the excellent company of Baron Wormser's When!

Life can be as simple as a boiled egg.

I love this book. I have heard Baron Wormser read twice, which makes it all the better (he's a great guy) and the book is worth it for the last poem alone, A Quiet Life, which is affectionately known as "the egg poem". Everyone needs to read that poem. The rest of his poems are honest and well written, not cloying or in excess. And as for the egg poem, there seems to be some sort of deep, meaningful philosophy portrayed in a few wonderful lines.