The Wasteland is a long poem written by T.S. Eliot. It is widely regarded by literary critics as one of the most important poems of the 20th century, if not the most important work of modernist poetry. The poem is divided into five sections: "The Burial of the Dead," which tackles themes of disillusionment and despair; "The Game of Chess," a narrative riff on the same theme; "The Fire Sermon," which explores the concepts of death and self-denial; "Death by Water," a lyrical protest; and finally, "Death by Water," a strong image of stark judgment that concludes the poem What the Thunder Said," which concludes.

Now, you may be thinking, "Okay, nerd, what does this have to do with pornography?" To which I would say, "Relax, you impatient barbarian, we're almost there." Wasteland" is a poem inspired by the BDSM site of the same title: "Wasteland.com". And if you stop to use your few brain cells, you might see why the creators of the BDSM fetish site were inspired by Eliot's poem (so much so that the site includes a version of it, along with black and white photos of women in bondage Wasteland.com.

First, Wasteland.com prides itself on being a bastion of the "dark side of desire," hence its slogan. Another reason why this porn site pays homage to poetry is that the language of Eliot's poems is full of images in which pain and pleasure are almost indistinguishably blended. We now have a basic explanation for why this porn site pays homage to poetry.

Much more than pornography

From the moment you log into the members area of Waste Land, you will be amazed. The site looks nothing like the typical premium pay-per-porn site you're probably used to. Instead of the menu bar at the top of the page, bordering on a gallery of video thumbnails, the first thing that catches your eye is the banner, which looks like the album cover of an 80's metal band. The site's logo is depicted in Iron Maiden-inspired text against a close-up of a beautiful, seductive blonde wearing a thick silver collar around her neck.

Scrolling below it, you might think, "Hey, where's the porn?" Again, please bear with me. Below the banner is a quote from Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven." Deep into that darkness peering, long I stand there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before." So much for being so hard on literature. I've never been to a porn site before, and I love the idea of "dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before" in the context of BDSM. It's the beautiful cruelty of bondage and the reason you are here in the first place.

Next, Waste Land's mission statement greets you: "Explode." And if you get tired of the video content, you can still access one of the vast photo gallery sites that Waste Land has made available. In addition to the collection of original images, the site also links to the Dark Garden photo gallery. In addition, visitors can access Sensuous Sadie's Corner (photos, podcasts, musings, and more from renowned BDSM personality and author Sensuous Sadie), Waste Land Party Pics (photos from the world-famous annual Waste Land Fetish Party), Weekly Fetish Models, Asian Underground Images (rare Japanese hardcore photos), and House of Japanese Bondage (whose description reads "A realm of beauty and terror, shadow and light, tradition and disorder, fear and ecstasy await you here. is waiting for you here").

If all this is not enough for you, do not worry, for I have only skimmed the surface of what this site has to offer. Enjoy Waste Land your very own live cam site (fetish heavy obviously) if that is your thing. Or meet kinksters in the same way through Waste Land's community section, a totally free social network for site members. Create a profile, upload photos, interact with fellow members and maybe even find new playing partners. Or, if you're just up for some stimulating conversation in a more anonymous setting, you can post and comment on the Waste Land forum. Maybe interactive 3D chat games are more your style. If so, that is always an option as well.

If you're new to the lifestyle, don't worry. Waste Land offers a lot of literature on BDSM safety and culture to help you get started. Learn the art of rope bondage, browse the BDSM knowledge base, check out some helpful instructional how-to guides, brush up on your practical sex magic know-how, and learn from the Dungeon Master of Blackthorn Manor with his insightful instructional videos, or study some step-by-step instructions in the art of Japanese rope bondage thanks to Shibari Kobo.

Once you're in the wasteland, there's no escaping it.

Holy fuck, there is just too much on this website and I know I can't get it all. You are really just going to have to go to waste land and see for yourself. This is easily the largest, most resourceful porn site I've ever been to. There is so much to like: literary leanings, educational materials, quality content, and a huge, active community. Like Alice's rabbit hole, I may go into this site and never come back.

My only complaint about this site is its design. Don't get me wrong, the site is very well organized and it is easy to find what you are looking for (and to discover and explore new parts of the community that you didn't know existed). However, that is not where my problem lies. My problem lies in the fact that the site looks really old - it was designed in the early 90's and I hate to say it, but it really shows.

It is a very text-heavy site design.