A boy falling in love with his next door neighbor, a priest longing for a more fulfilling life, a garage owner closing his shop to eat a lard sandwich, "Sister" Lily sporting three pairs of new shoes when "two is ample," a father trying to gain his son's admiration by reading Wordsworth to his class-these and more come alive in Lawson's collection of narrative poetry, Something about Missouri.

His portrayal of a past rural life is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, but always sensitive to the complications of growing up. This world becomes a metaphor for family, adolescent love, and the struggle with life's disappointments. He is a master of describing a particular time and place, so that you feel you have grown up in that part of the country and are reading about friends.

These poems describe the inhabitants of a fictional Missouri town with love, as one treats one's family, with a voice that appreciates the honesty of the people and finds the irony of this life.