In the Bent Ear, Baynard Woods follows the great writer Joseph Mitchell, in allowing Baltimore’s quirkier citizens to bend his ear with their stories, without regard for theme, peg, news, or current events. Woods strives to profile the variety of people you could meet in Baltimore on a given day. Occasionally, an artist or musician may bend his ear, but most often the column will be devoted to the stories of the un (or under) sung.
Baynard Woods was born and raised in South Carolina. At the age of eighteen, after being kicked out of several Greenville high schools, he ran as far from there as a 1972 model vehicle would take him. While wandering New Mexico, he met and married Nicole King, a fellow Carolinian, who helped to bring him home. They now live in Baltimore. Woods covers Congress for the Columbia City Paper, writes a column for What Weekly, and works as a freelance writer. He holds a Ph.D. in Ancient Philosophy and teaches Greek, Latin, and Mythology at local universities. His essay “The Right to Think” appeared in The Right to Literacy in Secondary Schools, published by Teachers College Press. Woods writes songs and plays bass in Jerry Lee Atwater and the Dueling Creek Playboys. He is the author of Coffin Point.
