after being reminded that he works at a poetry journal, demands poems about Spider-Man. Production The writers of the episode first started with the idea of Moe as Charles Bukowski and then teamed him with Lisa. The episode guest stars authors Tom Wolfe, who says The Simpsons "is the only show of any sort that I watch on television"; Jonathan Franzen and Michael Chabon, who recorded their lines together; and Gore Vidal, who admitted that he was not a regular watcher of the show. In one version of the script, Wolfe, Chabon and Franzen were all killed by a giant boulder. Although the guest stars recorded lines for this part of the episode, the scene was cut from the final version. The Wordloaf conference is based on the real life Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont. Reception Dan Iverson of IGN rates it a 7.3, saying that this episode made up for the previous one. He praises all the guest voices in their appearances, though mainly Tom Wolfe's. References External links The Simpsons (season 18) episodes 2006 American television episodes