L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has inspired some of the greatest forms of entertainment over the last 100 years. Let's see, there's this bizarre yet mildly racist silent film version of the fantastic tale; the famous Judy Garland film that should be required viewing by all humans; The Wiz, a '70s "urban" musical version; and Wicked, a bombastic 2003 musical told from the Wicked Witch of the West's perspective.
And now we have another. Bucky Sinister's poem "The Gray Side of The Moon" smashes together San Francisco with The Wizard of Oz, highlighting urban grit, meth, gangs, guns ,Oz-ian urban legends, and more. It's kind of like The Wiz without the music, and we mean that in the greatest way possible.
Sinister read the poem at the Quiet Lightning reading series, which was published today over at The Rumpus. Be sure to check it out.