I hope you’ll talk about The Wizard of Oz as elaborate allegory for the politics of its time — I’ve heard about this and wonder if contemporary readers got that message.

I read the book, and found it very interesting. Evan explores the times/events of Frank Baum’s life and how they influenced him to create the story of Oz. Evan is also good company at a dinner party.

Our family loved the entire OZ series. My husband read each of the books aloud to our two sons when they were young (they’re now 28 and 23) and on long car rides would play their own version of “20 Questions” with the Oz characters and events as the focus. We still find many times when aspects of the stories come up as references as our lives. Such a brilliant series and I recommend it to any family looking for a way to connect with a wonderful story that the entire family can enjoy.

I’d love to hear your guest talk about the whole Oz series, not just the one book Hollywood made famous. I read them all, over and over, as a child, and would love to hear Evan Schwartz’s take on them all.

In addition, I’d love to hear his thoughts on Gregory Maguire’s derivative novels (Wicked and Son of a Witch).

I am surprised a Business Week journalist does not mention early on David Schoenbrod’s “Yellow Brick Beltway.” He argues, L. Frank Baum drew the book’s symbolism from William Jennings Bryan’s campaign for the national government to
back its paper money with silver as well as gold. Bryan’s opponent in the 1896 and 1900 presidential elections was William McKinley, who supported the gold standard. Bryan argued that the gold standard depressed the economy, thereby crucifying America on a “cross of gold.” The hard times are represented by the bleakness of the Kansas in which Dorothy finds herself at the beginning of the book. Dorothy represents everywoman, and the cyclone that carries her to the land of Oz is a silverite victory at the polls, according to the historian Richard Jensen. The land gets its name from the silverites wanting 16 ounces (oz.) of silver
to be the monetary equivalent of one ounce of gold. Her own house lands on the wicked Witch of the East (the Eastern bankers), killing the witch and freeing the Munchkins (ordinary people) from bondage. The good Witch of the North (the Northern electorate) tells Dorothy that the Wizard of Oz may be able to help her get home. To reach him, she must travel the yellow brick road (gold ingots), which may be done only with silver slippers (the movie changed them to ruby for better contrast). She meets Bryan’s supporters along the way — the Scarecrow (the farmer who thinks he has no brains) and the Tin Woodsman (the industrial laborer who thinks he has no compassion) — and Bryan himself represented as a Cowardly Lion.

Thank you for this …. wonderful. Photos of the original Peekskill, NY yellow brick road are up on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=yellow%20brick%20road%20peek
skill&w=all&s=int&referer_searched=1

cool. I read through all the Oz books in my school library as a child and loved every single one of them. Of course I also loved the Judy Garland movie, Gregory Maguire’s book (and the musical) Wicked! and Gregory Maguire’s book Son of a Witch (possibly soon to be a major motion picture, I hope). There’s something fundamentally American and good about these stories.

I simply can not think of the Wizard of Oz without thinking of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”. Anyone who has tried to synchronize these two great works knows what I’m talking about. I would like the guest to speak about this topic, if possible!

The movie still captures me when I watch it. But I remember reading the book as a kid and being absolutely carried away by Baum’s description of the Emerald City. I wanted to go there in the worst way. To hear the author talk about the spiritual basis for the book really helps put it in perspective.

Can Mr. Schwartz talk a little bit more about the Theosophist movement in the Central NY State? The mystical architect, Claude Bragdon, was very involved in this movement. Thsi area was, earlier in the century, labeled the “burned Over District for all the new religions cropping up.

Also, he green glasses that Dorothy. et al. wear remind me of Joseph Smith’s seeing stones, who also came from Palmyra in Central NY.

I’m a writer. You’re not giving nearly enough credit to Baum’s imagination, his ability to simply make stuff up. Everything doesn’t have to have a source outside his head or a symbolic meaning. Read it with your feelings, not your magnifying glass.

Listening to this show reminds me of so many phrases that are used in today’s contemprary culture from the Wizard of Oz:
I’m going to get you my little pretty
Follow the Yellow Brook Raod
Toto we’re not in Kansas anymore
Australia is called the Land of Oz
I have a T hsirt that says, “Auntie Em, Hate you, hate Kansas, took the dog, Dorothy
And Somewhere Over the Rainbow sung by artists all over the world.

Even when people do not know the whole story, they refer to these and use them frequently in every day discussions! The Wizard of Oz Lives on!!

Author L. Frank Baum was a republican, a McKinley supporter and a staunch advocate of Woman’s Suffrage. Anyone who respects the author, has read all the man’s published works, and has studied his biography knows perfectly well that all the “political allegories” and other hidden meanings attributed to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz were never the author’s intention.

This has been a great interview, however the guest was writing about the 1900 novel, and too many questions have focused on the classic film, Judy Garland and Wizard. It’s unfortunate that more people didn’t ask about the subject at hand.

This is a great show, and let us not forget that here are at least 14 books in the series by Frank Baum, and about 6 or 7 others written by relatives and freinds. To not include these other books in a discussion of Baum’s work. In one of the book, smart creatures can attack you by throwint there heads at you, but then they have to spend hours finding their heads, becfause they are now blind. We need to look at all of these books, because Baum refused the theary later developed by CS Lewis and Tolkein, that childrens’ fiction rtequires a EU-Castrophy. That childrren’s ficrtion has to be a struggle between good and evil, good wins in the end, but good also suffers losses along the wway. Baum’s “good” is there, an his Evil is in the books as well, but they are emasculated, weakened, quite paficist in character. There is litlle or no killing in the books. So, Baum’sgood is good, but it’s not superpowerful, and thwe evil is almost always stupid and vulerable–many times, the evil figures are, in fact, trapped by others into their situations.

Also, Baum TRIED to stop writing OZ books, but could not succeed. He has other books that are great, too! Take the time to read all 14 of his OZ books, and you will get to know Baum and his pacifist worlds much better.

Please inform your listeners about the beautiful graphic print adaptations by Eric Shanower.

What I liked about this book was the story of how Baum overcame so many trials and adversity before the Wizard of Oz emerged. Evan spins the story like Slumdog Millionaire – how each piece of the Oz story is inspired by Baum’s life events.

For the record, the making of Pink Floyd’s album “Dark Side of the Moon” had nothing whatsoever to do with the Wizard of Oz movie. The supposed synchronization of the two was invented in the late 1990s by folks with nothing better to do. I’m sure one can do this with many albums and many movies with similar results.

While we might all love his story, the life of L. Frank Baum raises questions about how we deal with the tension between a broader message, or even work of art, that we might appreciate and the unfortunately horrific personal convictions of the author. While the guest may apologize for Baum’s genocidal writings as a “dark” moment in his career, his endlessly incendiary language as editor for the Aberdeen Sunday Pioneer reflected a racism that was all too common and all too deadly. This was not a response to indigenous violence — it was, as would be described today, aggression. Days after advocating for the complete annihilation of all native people in America, he wrote: “we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up… and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth.”

We can apologize for such hatred, or we can admit our own legacy of brutality and recognize the importance of understanding these stories and works of art in their real context

A few years ago while sledding I hit a tree. The severe head concussion transported me to another space and time. I was awake and talking yet not present in the present. In the hospital I kept telling my husband that I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I actually thought it was a pleasant feeling and tried to hold on to the “weirdness” as my mind returned to the present. I wonder if Baum had ever had such an experience that may have inspired his books.

I grew up hating The Wizard of Oz. I terrified me as a very young child. My poor, unknowing Dad took , me to see it when I was only 4. Glinda terrified me! I slid off the theater seat in total terror when that bubble loomed large on the screen. It irritated me to no end that my younger sister adored the movie when she finally got to see it. (She was a newborn back in 1954 when I saw it) I took delight in imitating Margaret Hamilton and threatening “get” her. My perspective on the movie, the story, the characters and the actors changed when I was working for Milwaukee’s Melody Top Theater, one of the few remaining summer stock tent theaters in the country. Not only did I get to work with John Fricke, one of the consummate Judy Garland, Wizard of Oz and all things related experts, but I also met the Wicked Witch herself, Margaret Hamilton. I can’t remember the exact year, but it was in the early’70s. the show was “High Button Shoes” and it starred Monty Hall and Margaret Hamilton. She was wonderful. Tiny, warm and friendly, and so funny. She resisted our requests to repeat her famous line until dress rehearsal night when her costume was a bit too tight and she came sweeping through looking for our wardrobe mistress, cackling and threatening “I’ll get you my pretty…”, complete with those marvelous hand gestures. I started to look beyond the face of the story. Evan Schwartz has piqued an even deeper curiosity in me. I’d love to hear more, but I go buy the book! Thanks for an unexpected delight.

A few thoughts, of possible amusement:

..Edison…
One may ponder that Tesla, Edison’s peer at the time,
and also an exhibitor of standing, at the Chicago
World’s Fair had, i think, a wizardly air. Science,
to some extent, was practiced more publicly then.

…Tin Man…
Popular fiction of the time (‘dime novels’) teemed
with ‘steam men’, at least one actual specimen was
built.

…No Place Like Home…
While occurring in the novel, i wager it preceded
the novel in popular culture, as did other imagery:
witches and broomsticks date back centuries.

On another radio show, dunno if it makes it to this
book, it was commented the the Oz reality has been
translated and extended, worldwide: there is
apparently, an entire Russian continuity of tales.

best

On the supposed Pink Floyd connection to the Oz movie, Evan Schwartz sends us the following note:

It’s amazing how many people bring this up, and I didn’t have chance comment on it on the air.

I too have enjoyed using “Dark Side of the Moon” as an alternative sound track. It’s kinda cool, but I believe members of Pink Floyd have said there was no intention whatsoever.

The connection seems to have been made up in the 70s by someone who perhaps had one too many bong hits.

However, there are some eerie moments that synch up, and you can learn about them here:

http://www.everwonder.com/david/wizardofoz

Don’t forget Baum the film maker! Baum went broke putting on Magic Lantern shows and was a pioneer film maker. Other Oz films include “The Wiz” and Disney’s “Return to Oz,” which used more of Baum’s other Oz books beyond “Wizard of Oz.” There’s also a really bad cartoon entitled “Journey Back to Oz” which was released in 1974 but was created a few years earlier.
So Baum’s Oz exists in books, on film & tv & now, the internet.