Oz Books & Gay Men
When I was ten, I discovered Lucky Bucky in Oz on a high shelf in the bedroom I shared with my big brother. I knew the six old books up there were my dad’s books from when he was a kid. And I knew they would be connected to the Wizard of Oz movie that showed on TV every year… and I was curious. I was a budding book worm and had already developed a lot of curiosity about old books.
Though I liked the movie well enough, the Scarecrow’s yellow face makeup always disturbed me… even more disturbing than the Wicked Witch’s green makeup. I liked the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow a lot… actually I liked the entire score… but I was a little ambivalent about Dorothy. It was a revelation to find an Oz book about a BOY! Lucky Bucky introduced me to an Oz where there were LOTS of boy characters. And often the boys were a little different… they longed be somewhere else, or someone else. I was hooked! I’ve spent much of my life collecting Oz books. Ojo in Oz may be my favorite. Though Inga, the prince of Pingaree, in Rinkitink in Oz was a great story as well. I wanted some magical pearls of my own! The books may not have held up well for modern points of view – they quite leaned into an imperialistic attitude of European superiority, and class privilege, but the imagination within the world creation is still spectacular.
The illustrator for most of the Oz books was John R. Neill. I dreamed of being an illustrator like him. He influenced me a great deal as I slowly learned how to draw. This morning I stumbled on a website that is dedicated to finding the lost art of Oz. It is fascinating to see John R. Neill’s rough sketches. If you are interested in the subject, it is well worth visiting the Lost Art of Oz website! https://www.lostartofoz.com/
When I moved to Los Angeles I met a fellow at the gym who also collected Oz books and he and I chatted about how curious it was that a large percentage of Oz Book collectors (and Oz fans in general) are gay men. But it makes sense. In Oz, the unusual is celebrated. As an odd child, it seemed a place where I might find my people. Oddly enough, in a roundabout way, it was indeed a stepping stone towards finding my people. A community theater production of The Wizard of Oz inspired ten-year-old me to audition for Oliver! and get involved with local theater. In high school, I designed a model on spec for the scenery for a production of The Wizard of Oz and that led me to my first paying set design gig. (I still have the model for it up in the cupboard)
The Fantastical Land of Frey is obviously my own unique spin on Oz, with my book Olly Olly Oxen Frey. Though mine has a couple of gay teens and a bit of a journey regarding body shame and coming out to religious parents. Life is a journey of discovery. Oz’s core message throughout the Oz books is that if you have a problem, you step out into the world and find the solution. You don’t sit at home and wait for someone to fix things. And when you go out into the world on your quest, you are polite to everyone that you meet. And sometimes, because of your kindness people may unexpectedly help you. Those themes are echoed in my book as they are important in my daily life. When you can help, you help. That is how the world is changed, even if it is only changed for one person in your orbit.
In Olly Olly Oxen Frey, I enjoyed the freedom to explore the sexual frustrations and longings of my 15 year old self in a fantasy world full of strange creatures and spectacular sights.
