Mensen Zeggen Dingen returns to WORM. Expect an evening full of words that grate, whisper, explode, and heal. We bring spoken word, poetry, slam, and stories—raw, honest, sometimes sharp as glass, sometimes soft as breath. Every edition is different. Every voice a universe.
We move between the stage and the street, between what is said and what does not yet dare. Come listen. Come feel. Come say things.
The powerful line-up includes Rachad, Yanaika, Daniël Vis, Dean Bowen, and Helene Rust, among others. More names to follow!

Rachad
Rachad is a writer and spoken word artist who has been active on stages, TV, and radio for nearly 10 years. In 2024, he won the El Hijzra Literature Prize for poetry, and in 2025, his first poetry collection, 'Na'im', was published. In his work, he discusses topics such as identity, politics, and mental well-being.

Yanaika
'Leave it to Zomer to lift the heaviest things for you and move what seemed immovable. She does it with a light-footedness that is comforting. And often: deceptive.' – Ester Naomi Perquin.
'First and foremost, Zomer is a magician, no a ventriloquist, no a Houdini of language.' – Peter Vermaat, Meander magazine.

Yanaika Zomer is a writer, poet, and City Poet of Den Helder. In that capacity, she won the Grote Prijs van Gouda for Best City Poet in 2022 and reached the finals again the following year. In that same year, she also reached the finals of the Dutch Poetry Slam Championship. In 2024, her debut collection 'U heeft nog 43 ongelezen gedichten' was published, which was very well received, and she received the Granate Prize in October 2024. Recurring themes in Zomer's work begin with an M remarkably often: girls, mothers, human inadequacy, MILFs, sparrows, blackbirds and other birds, mental
health, men, courage, mistresses, and the possibility of escaping everything.

Dean Bowen
(Netherlands) is a poet, performer, and programme maker. In his work, he examines how people's identity relates to society, as evidenced by his multilingual collection Bokman (2018). His powerful delivery earned him the first Van Dale SPOKEN Award; he served as City Poet of Rotterdam in 2019 and 2020. In his * Ik vond geen ghost in Achtmaal* (2020), a nameless figure describes, through diary entries, poems, confessions, and rituals, the search for what remains of a person long after they have died. He has published poems on online platforms SampleKanon and Hard//Hoofd and in magazines such as nY and Kunsttijdschrift Vlaanderen. He teaches performance literature and poetry in the Creative Writing program at ArtEZ. Together with the Flemish writer and musician Joost Hoekaf, he creates introspective hip-hop in the project Vudu Cru. His next collection, Masc:r, will be published in January 2026.

Marthe
van Bronkhorst is a writer, poet, theatre maker, and psychologist. She writes political columns for the magazine hard//hoofd, acted with the ZID theatre company, produces the podcast Radio Kookpunt, and writes for radio, theatre, and film. Her film 'Zittenblijvers' and her book 'Het ontduiken van Lo Laan' will be released in 2026.