Supersonic: imagining a new creation myth for Seattle
Seattle Public Schools is considering closing Stevenson Elementary School amid declining enrollment.
One longtime parent there is pushing back and trying to change its name to better reflect the school’s Japanese-American history.
That’s the kind of opening line you might hear on Soundside if the events of the book Supersonic were real.
The book is fiction, but it reflects the very real ethos of a city constantly reinventing itself through boom and bust cycles across generations.
At the center of the story is Sami Hasegawa-Stalwarth, a PTA president with a deep history in the city.
But Supersonic also takes us through the city’s history, to see the connections across generations. We meet a gold rush conman, aerospace workers building the Supersonic transport, a stay at home dad trying to open the city’s first legal cannabis dispensary, and the Native people who have called this area home since time immemorial.
Guest:
Thomas Kohnstamm, author of Supersonic
Links:
Third Place Books event info for Thomas Kohnstamm reading on Thursday, February 27
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Libby Denkmann
Host, Soundside
Libby Denkmann joined KUOW in December 2021 as the host of the midday show Soundside. She’s a native Pacific Northwesterner who grew up in Redmond, graduated from the University of Washington, and covered local news as a producer and reporter with KIRO Radio.
More stories from Libby Denkmann » -
Hans Anderson
Producer, Soundside
Hans Anderson is a producer on KUOW’s Soundside, where he covers a diverse range of topics from conflicts over how to use busy streets to how the open spaces of the Palouse inspire modern musical compositions. He primarily produces segments about politics, arts and transportation.
More stories from Hans Anderson »
