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Kevin Kling

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Kevin Kling
Born
Osseo, Minnesota, United States
NationalityAmerican

Kevin Kling is an American storyteller and a commentator for National Public Radio.

Life and career

Kling grew up in Osseo, Minnesota, and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre. He began his career in the Twin Cities during the 1990s with two plays that wrote: 21A and Fear and Loving in Minneapolis.[1] His one-man show Home and Away premiered at the Seattle Repertory Theatre and then moved to Second Stage Theatre (NYC) under the direction of David Esbjornson, also a Gustavus Adolphus College alumnus.[2][3] Kling and Minneapolis-based accordionist and singer Simone Perrin have collaborated on two works, How? How? Why? Why? and Breakin' Hearts and Takin' Names.

In 1993, Kling won the Whiting Award for drama.[4] In 2009, he won the A. P. Anderson Award for Outstanding Contributions to Literature and the Arts in Minnesota.[2]

Kling has also made regular storytelling contributions to NPR’s All Things Considered. He has released several CD collections, including a boxed set, Collected Stories. His first published book of short stories was The Dog Says How followed by four more titles.

Kling has not been slowed in his work by a birth defect that shriveled his left arm and a motorcycle accident that completely paralyzed his right arm.[1]

Plays

  • 21A
  • Fear and Loving in Minneapolis
  • Home and Away
  • Lloyd's Prayer
  • The Education of Walter Kauffman
  • The Seven Dwarfs
  • Hammer, Anvil and Stirrup
  • Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
  • Invisible Fences (with Gaelynn Lea)

Books

  • The Dog Says How, Borealis Books, 2007
  • Kevin Kling's Holiday Inn, Borealis Books, 2009
  • Big Little Brother, Borealis Books, 2011
  • Big Little Mother, Borealis Books, 2013
  • On Stage with Kevin Kling, Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2013

Recordings

  • 1994 Home and Away
  • 2001 Stories Off the Shallow End
  • 2003 Wonderlure
  • 2004 A Fool's Paradise
  • 2004 Collected Stories
  • 2007 Alive
  • 2012 State Fair
  • 2014 Come & Get It

Awards

  • 1986 Heideman Best Short Play Award for 21A
  • 1993 Whiting Award
  • 2009 A.P. Anderson Award
  • 2010 Storytelling World Storytelling Collection, for "The Dog Says How" [5]
  • 2012 National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence Award [6]

References

  1. ^ a b "Kevin Kling Returns". National Public Radio. January 2002. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Storyteller receives A.P. Anderson Award". Redwing Republican Eagle. May 24, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "Kevin Kling Profile at Festival of Homiletics". Festival of Homiletics. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  4. ^ "Kevin Kling 1993 Whiting Award". Whiting Award Foundation. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  5. ^ Flora Joy. "The 2010 Storytelling World Resource Awards." http://storytellingworld.com/2010/ Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  6. ^ National Storytelling Network. "Circle of Excellence Award Recipients." http://storynet.org/oracle/circleofexcellence.html Archived 2011-09-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 14 July 2017.


  1. ^ Press, Chris Hewitt | Pioneer (2015-02-25). "Kevin Kling answers 9 questions, and, yes, Don Knotts would play him". Twin Cities. Retrieved 2019-04-16.