Available in print for the first time in 50 years, Behind the State Capitol: Or Cincinnati Pike has long enjoyed cult status. It is the record of a poet whose life has been shattered by poverty, drug addiction, and mental illness. Wieners creates a complex schizo-analysis of language, capitalism, incarceration, and state power, while reflecting on unpopular themes of aging and loneliness in the gay world. It is also a paean for his beloved city of Boston, as he witnessed its destruction by the onerous forces of urban renewal. Considered by many to be his masterpiece, the book was met variously with indifference and outrage when it was published in 1975. In 1982, most remaining copies of the book were destroyed in the arson fire of Fag Rag/Good Gay Poets offices.