Zach Crain is a longtime writer and editor. D Magazine The magazine said the writer, who chronicled the city’s people, politics and culture, died at his home on Tuesday night after a short illness. He was 50 years old.
Over 17 years D MagazineCrain wrote about everything from a weekend with a famously sober DJ to a 4th District drive with then-City Councilman Dwayne Caraway to an interview with an imaginary mosquito (who, according to Crain’s transcript, was outraged at being accused of carrying the West Nile virus).
In 2013, Crain investigated the aftermath of a fertilizer plant explosion in his hometown of West, about an hour south of Dallas, that killed 15 people and destroyed hundreds of homes.
“Until April 17, West was known more as an honored rest stop than a town. It was simply exit 353 on I-35, a place to stop on the way to Dallas or Austin to buy kolács, a pastry that was a major Czech contribution to global cuisine,” he wrote. D Magazine“That narrow history began to widen in the days following the explosion.”
write D Magazine The magazine’s editor, Tim Rogers, on Thursday called Crain “an incredibly talented writer with impeccable taste in music and movies, a romantic history as varied as his sneaker collection, and a guy who looks as good in tight T-shirts as he does in fitted T-shirts, yet has surprisingly finicky teeth.”
In the 2020 photobook, Dallas’ Recent Pedestrian History, Crane would walk around town during his lunch break and admire the world around him.
“When you drive somewhere, the only things separating you from the doors and windows and alleys and signs for men and women and cats may be a few inches of steel and glass and a few feet of concrete,” he writes in the introduction, “but those things might as well be on the other side of a river, buried underground, hidden behind a mountain, or never existing at all.”
Will Evans, founder of Deep Vellum, which published Crain’s book, had long admired him as a fellow member of the local literary community. But what caught Evans’ eye more than Crain’s writing was his Instagram account. “He was always posting stories about things happening in Dallas that I’d never seen,” Evans said.
“It’s such a contradictory idea to walk through Dallas,” Evans continued, but Crane leaned into the superficial conflict. The photographs depict a “mostly imaginary” world of Dallas, Evans said.
Deep Vellum is Cranes’ I saw a big German man It will be published in 2021. The book features former Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki in the second person and interweaves Crain’s personal anecdotes, particularly about fatherhood, with Nowitzki’s life on and off the court.
“It’s a beautiful snapshot of personal growth, it’s almost like a coming-of-age story,” Evans said.
According to LinkedIn, Crane D Magazine After working as an editor for American Airlines’ in-flight magazine for two years, he went independent in 2007. From 1997 to 2005, he worked as the music editor and writer for American Airlines’ in-flight magazine. Dallas Observer.
By Sarah Hepola, Features Writer Dallas Morning NewsI remember working with Crane from 2003-2005. Dallas Observer.
“We were young and drunk. We were ambitious and lazy at the same time. We fought. He could hold grudges,” Hepola said in an email. “It was hard to stay angry because he could make me laugh at his jokes. Anyone who loved him can tell you, he was really funny.”
Former Editor Dallas Morning NewsAccording to Mark Lamster, the paper’s architecture critic, Mike Wilson had a dog named Story. “Once every two weeks, Crain’s would post a story with 100 dog names that were better than Story,” Lamster said. “Most of them were silly and terrible names, but they were hilarious.”
Lamster added that Crane was one of the “cool kids” in Dallas journalism.
Outside of the world of journalism and literature, Crain began running for mayor of Dallas in 2006.
“For a long time I wasn’t interested in local politics. It always seemed to me like two people fighting in the street, a volatile situation that didn’t really concern me,” he explained. Esquire Article from that time.
“From the streets to the schools, our city is declining. No one trusts anyone in charge to stop the decline, and there aren’t enough police officers to protect what we have. When my children grow up, I want them to be proud of where they come from, and to be safe and happy there.”
In the end, he was unable to gather enough valid signatures to get on the ballot.
Crane is survived by his son, Isaac; D Magazine. The magazine said the venue and time of the memorial service will be announced soon.
