The Simpsons' Beloved Springfield: Essays on the TV Series and Town That Are Part of Us All, Paperback

First aired in 1989, The Simpsons has become America's most beloved animation. It changed the world of television, bringing to the screen a cartoon for adults, a sitcom without a laugh track, an imperfect lower class family, a mixture of high and low comedy and satire for the masses. This collection of new essays explores the many ways in which The Simpsons reflects everyday life through its exploration of gender roles, music, death, food politics, science and religion, anxiety, friendship and more.

Karma Waltonen teaches professional writing, literature, popular culture (including The Simpsons), and stand-up comedy at the University of California, Davis. She is the President of the Margaret Atwood Society and edits Margaret Atwood Studies. Denise Du Vernay taught courses in composition, literature, The Simpsons, speech, and the humanities for seventeen years. She writes about the Simpsons and Margaret Atwood. She lives in Chicago, Illinois where she works in the Advancement division at Loyola University Chicago.