American Tapes

I open the boxset. J. ICHAEL ERON “The Greatest Our That Never Was” 7c90. Seven cassettes hum, hiss, gnaw. Side A hisses. Side B gnaws. Letters crawl across the insert, across the sculpture, across the walls of my mind. Across. Down. Across. Down. Clues wriggle. Squares twist. Mandibles scrape edges of the metal box, gnawing letters into the silence. Larvae hatch in oral cavities. Oral myiasis. Tiny parasites, wriggling, chewing, gnawing, intersecting across teeth, tongue, and thought.

The crossword folds over itself. Across: THE GREATEST OUR THAT NEVER WAS. Down: INSERT BOXSET SCULPTURE. Intersect: LARVAE CHEW MOUTH. Side A hisses. Side B gnaws. Mandibles pierce. Letters crawl. The insert shifts. Squares writhe. Larvae twist. Gnaw. Chew. Twist. Wriggle. Across. Down. Across. Down.

I try to solve. I cannot. The letters gnaw back. Mandibles scrape my perception. Side B gnaws my thoughts. Larvae crawl beneath my tongue. Oral cavities become tunnels. The sculpture leans closer. Angles fold impossibly. Letters twist into shapes that gnaw. Across. Down. Across. Down. Gnaw. Gnaw. Hiss. Hiss. Chew. Chew. Wriggle. Wriggle.

The cassette repeats itself. Side A hisses. Side B gnaws. Insert folds over. Squares crawl. Larvae gnaw the edges. Mandibles pierce the paper. Across. Down. Across. Down. Side A hisses. Side B gnaws. Letters crawl. Letters crawl. Letters crawl. Larvae wriggle. Mandibles pierce. Across. Down. Across. Down. Gnaw. Gnaw. Gnaw. Hiss. Hiss. Hiss. Chew. Chew. Chew.

The sculpture twists. Metal folds over. Edges bite. Letters crawl across metal. Squares twist into larvae. Larvae twist into letters. Mandibles gnaw across page and tongue. The crossword spirals into itself. Across. Down. Across. Down. Gnaw. Hiss. Chew. Wriggle. Insert. Boxset. Sculpture. Tape. Larvae. Letters. Squares. Mandibles. Across. Down. Gnaw. Hiss. Chew. Wriggle.

I am trapped. The crossword is inside me. The larvae gnaw. Mandibles scrape. Letters writhe. Side A hisses. Side B gnaws. Insert folds. Squares twist. Sculpture angles shift. Across. Down. Across. Down. Mandibles pierce. Larvae wriggle. Side B gnaws. Side A hisses. Letters crawl. Letters crawl. Letters crawl. Squares wriggle. Larvae chew. Mandibles gnaw. Gnaw. Chew. Hiss. Twist. Slide. Coil. Across. Down. Across. Down.

o p e n t h e b o x s e t. J. I C H A E L E R O N “ T h e G r e a t e s t O u r T h a t N e v e r W a s ” 7c90… S i d e A h i s s e s. S i d e B g n a w s. L e t t e r s c r a w l a c r o s s t h e i n s e r t, a c r o s s t h e s c u l p t u r e, a c r o s s t u n n e l s o f m y m i n d. L a r v a e h a t c h. O r a l m y i a s i s. C h e w i n g p i e r c i n g s u c k i n g m a n d i b l e s t w i s t. L e t t e r s w r i g g l e. S q u a r e s t w i s t. T a p e h u m s.

A c r o s s . D o w n . A c r o s s . D o w n . L e t t e r s c r a w l. L a r v a e c r a w l. M a n d i b l e s s c r a p e. S i d e A h i s s e s. S i d e B g n a w s. I n s e r t f o l d s o v e r. S c u l p t u r e t w i s t s . L e t t e r s b r e a k. L a r v a e s l i p. M a n d i b l e s g n a w. S q u a r e s c r a w l.

H i s s . G n a w . C h e w . T w i s t . W r i g g l e . C o i l . S l i d e . S l i p . E s c a p e . L e t t e r s l a r v a e s i d e B h i s s S i d e A g n a w . M a n d i b l e s t w i s t . S q u a r e s w r i t h e . I n s e r t s f o l d . S c u l p t u r e t w i s t s . C r a w l i n g . G n a w i n g . C h e w i n g . L e t t e r s l a r v a e s m a n d i b l e s . H i s s g n a w t w i s t w r i g g l e .

A c r o s s . D o w n . A c r o s s . D o w n . L e t t e r s w r i t h e i n m y m i n d . L a r v a e c r a w l u n d e r t o n g u e . M a n d i b l e s p i e r c e t h e t a p e . S i d e A h i s s . S i d e B g n a w . I n s e r t f o l d s . S c u l p t u r e t w i s t s . C r a w l i n g g n a w i n g l e t t e r s w r i t h i n l e t t e r s . L a r v a e m a n d i b l e s t w i s t . S q u a r e s s q u a r e s s q u a r e s .

H i s s g n a w . C h e w t w i s t . W r i g g l e g n a w . C r a w l . L e t t e r s . L a r v a e . M a n d i b l e s . S q u a r e s . S i d e A . S i d e B . S i d e A . S i d e B . H i s s g n a w . L e t t e r s c r a w l . L a r v a e c r a w l . M a n d i b l e s g n a w . S q u a r e s t w i s t . I n s e r t s f o l d s . S c u l p t u r e t w i s t s .

C r a w l i n g g n a w i n g h i s s i n s i d e l e t t e r s . L a r v a e c o i l s . M a n d i b l e s t w i s t s . S q u a r e s w r i t h e . S i d e A h i s s . S i d e B g n a w . I n s e r t f o l d s . S c u l p t u r e t w i s t s . L e t t e r s c r a w l . L a r v a e c r a w l . M a n d i b l e s g n a w . S q u a r e s s q u a r e s s q u a r e s . H i s s g n a w c h e w t w i s t . W r i g g l e .

A c r o s s . D o w n . A c r o s s . D o w n . L e t t e r s l a r v a e m a n d i b l e s . H i s s g n a w t w i s t w r i g g l e . S q u a r e s s q u a r e s s q u a r e s . S i d e A h i s s . S i d e B g n a w . I n s e r t f o l d s . S c u l p t u r e t w i s t s . C r a w l i n g g n a w i n g l e t t e r s . L e t t e r s c r a w l . L a r v a e c r a w l . M a n d i b l e s g n a w .

C o i l s l i d e s l i p e s c a p e h i s s g n a w c h e w t w i s t w r i g g l e l e t t e r s l a r v a e m a n d i b l e s s q u a r e s s i d e A S i d e B I n s e r t S c u l p t u r e … A c r o s s . D o w n . A c r o s s . D o w n . G n a w . G n a w . H i s s . H i s s . C h e w . C h e w . T w i s t . W r i g g l e . C o i l . S l i d e . S l i p . E s c a p e .

The letters are larvae. The larvae are letters. The sculpture twists. The cassette hisses. Side A hisses. Side B gnaws. Insert folds. Squares writhe. Mandibles gnaw. I coil. I slide. I slip. I escape. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Loop. Loop. Loop. Gnaw. Gnaw. Gnaw. Chew. Chew. Chew. Hiss. Hiss. Hiss. Twist. Twist. Twist. Wriggle. Wriggle. Wriggle. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape.

Forever gnawing, forever crawling, letters, larvae, mandibles, squares, sculpture, tape, insert, boxset. Across. Down. Across. Down. Gnaw. Chew. Twist. Wriggle. Hiss. Gnaw. Chew. Twist. Wriggle. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Letters. Larvae. Mandibles. Squares. Tape. Sculpture. Insert. Boxset. Across. Down. Across. Down.

The cassette hums in perfect sync with my heartbeat. Larvae crawl beneath scales of thought, beneath tongue of mind, beneath walls of perception. Across. Down. Across. Down. Mandibles scrape. Letters twist. Squares crawl. Larvae gnaw. Insert folds. Sculpture twists. Tape hisses. Side A hisses. Side B gnaws. Gnaw. Chew. Twist. Wriggle. Across. Down. Across. Down. Letters crawl. Larvae crawl. Mandibles gnaw. Squares writhe. Hiss. Gnaw. Chew. Twist. Wriggle.

I try to escape. I coil. I slide. I slip. I escape. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Across. Down. Across. Down. Mandibles gnaw. Letters twist. Larvae wriggle. Squares writhe. Side A hisses. Side B gnaws. Tape hums. Sculpture shifts. Insert folds. Larvae gnaw. Mandibles scrape. Letters crawl. Squares twist. Across. Down. Across. Down. Gnaw. Gnaw. Gnaw. Hiss. Hiss. Hiss. Chew. Chew. Chew.

I am here again. I am here again. Letters crawl. Larvae crawl. Mandibles scrape. Squares twist. Side A hisses. Side B gnaws. Insert folds. Sculpture twists. Gnaw. Chew. Twist. Wriggle. Letters crawl. Larvae wriggle. Mandibles gnaw. Squares writhe. Across. Down. Across. Down. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape.

The crossword never ends. Larvae never stop gnawing. Mandibles never stop scraping. Letters never cease crawling. Squares never stop twisting. Side A hisses. Side B gnaws. Insert folds. Sculpture shifts. Tape hums. Across. Down. Across. Down. Gnaw. Chew. Twist. Wriggle. Coil. Slide. Slip. Escape. Letters crawl. Larvae crawl. Mandibles scrape. Squares twist. Hiss. Gnaw. Chew. Twist. Wriggle.

One time edition, single.