{"id":16052,"date":"2023-05-09T08:33:51","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T12:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=16052"},"modified":"2023-05-09T08:33:54","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T12:33:54","slug":"episode-538-john-kropf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-538-john-kropf","title":{"rendered":"Episode 538 – John Kropf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 538:
\nJohn Kropf<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/virtualmemories\/Episode_538_-_John_Kropf.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“Coloring with crayons is a near-universal experience. Just about everyone can remember opening that first box of crayons and getting that crayon-high from that waxy smell.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>With his new book, COLOR CAPITAL OF THE WORLD<\/a> (University of Akron Press), John W. Kropf<\/a> explores the history of the American Crayon Co.<\/a>, Sandusky, OH, and his own family, while telling a bigger story about America. We get into the family stories & lore that led him to write the book, the toughest parts of researching it, when he realized that the story would involve the history of American immigration, innovation, chemistry, industry, public education, labor, and the rapaciousness of finance, and why he made sure to get a Gordon Lightfoot reference into its pages. We also talk about what crayons meant to American kids, whether he still draws with them, why his family sold out of the company, and how he met the challenge of including personal memoir in the story of a company town. Plus we contrast his multi-multi-generational history in America with my rootless cosmopolitanism, reflect on his writing life, and figure out who he’s been reading lately. Give it a listen!<\/a> And go read Color Capital of the World<\/a>!<\/p>\n

“Landscape is a storehouse of memory for community, and once the landscape is changed, once the factory is demolished, there’s that risk that memory is going to be erased.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n