Mona Simpson: Lawns

Recently I learned that the character, Mona Simpson, of the famed Simpsons television show, was named after the real-life author. She was married to one of the writers at the time, which accounts for the homage. That little factoid led me to research Mona Simpson, as I do often when happening across fun tidbits. Another revelation: Steve Jobs of Apple fame was Mona Simpson’s biological brother, although she didn’t meet him until she was twenty-five years old. Small-world stuff.

That leads me to her short stories. I was intrigued to explore her as a writer. Happily, I found “Lawns” available online. I dove in. What a gem of a story about a young woman at college, dealing with a boyfriend, a problematic relationship with her parents, father especially, and a part-time job with unexpected benefits. What I found so masterful about the writing was the way the author wove these threads together, each one dependent on the others, resulting in an amazing tapestry. Her story inspired me to take a hard look at the story I have been writing, to see if my threads were working together. Life can be a serendipity.

Mona Simpson won a Whiting Award for her first novel, “Anywhere but Here,” which was adapted into a movie by the same name. “Lawns” was first published in “The Iowa Review” in 1984. It can be accessed at pubs.lib.uiowa.edu.