American storyteller
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
- ^ a b "Kevin Kling Returns". National Public Radio. January 2002. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ a b "Storyteller receives A.P. Anderson Award". Redwing Republican Eagle. May 24, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ "Kevin Kling Profile at Festival of Homiletics". Festival of Homiletics. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ "Kevin Kling 1993 Whiting Award". Whiting Award Foundation. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ Flora Joy. "The 2010 Storytelling World Resource Awards." http://storytellingworld.com/2010/ Retrieved 14 July 2017.
- ^ 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.
External links
- Official website
- "The Return of Kevin Kling: A Story of Near-Death and Recovery" - All Things Considered
- The Losses and the Laughter We Grow Into with Kevin Kling - On Being
- Popmatters: Stories off the Shallow End
- Kevin Kling answers 9 questions, and, yes, Don Knotts would play him - Interview with the Twin Cities Pioneer Press newspaper[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.
