Key Zest arises from Harmony Korine's 2019 film The Beach Bum, which follows the misadventures of a poet named Moondog (Matthew McConaughey), a "rebellious burnout who only knows how to live life by his own rules." Set in Key West, Florida, and also starring Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher, Zac Efron, Jimmy Buffett, Martin Lawrence and Jonah Hill, the movie tracks Moondog's comical mishaps and assignations, culminating in his unlikely fame after the publication of his memoirs, which are universally lauded and win him a Pulitzer Prize.

Key Zest is a collection of Moondog's poems. Hilarious, preposterous and ribald, it includes such gems as "Alright, sunrise. / Let's get this party started." and "We can do whatever we want or nothing at all. / Eh, civilization." Harmony Korine writes, "Moondog is the greatest poet in the history of Key West. I read a few of these pages and loved every minute of it."