If you’re one of the hordes of people who have said that David Simon is a genius, now you’ve got proof. Simon, the man behind The Wire, is among the 23 recipients of a MacArthur “genius” grant.
Chicago’s John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awards the no-strings-attached $500,000 stipends, which are paid over five years.
“With the nuance and scope of novels, Simon’s recent series have explored the constraints that poverty, corruption and broken social systems place on the lives of a compelling cast of characters, each vividly realized with complicated motives, frailties, and strengths,” the foundation said in summarizing Simon’s work.
Simon, 50, is a former Baltimore Sun crime reporter and co-creator, writer and producer of Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire, set in Baltimore, and the current HBO series Treme, set in New Orleans.
Check out this piece of award-winning work (NSFW for language):
