Karr, Kathleen

Kathleen Karr was born April 21, 1946 in Allentown, PA. She received her B.A. at the Catholic University of America in 1968 and her M.A. in 1971 from Providence College. The foundational threads of reputable writing flank early on in her career as a high school English and speech teacher in Barrington, RI, in 1968. Shortly there after, Karr crossed boarders into the film and theatrical realm, working a plethora of communicative jobs in and around Washington DC and the north-eastern plot of the United States including the general manager of the Washington Circle Theater Corporation [1973-1978], advertising director of the Circle/Showcase Theaters [1979-1983], and a lecturer of film and communication in a variety of institutions between 1969-1995.

Karr attributes her integration into frictional writing to her husband Lawrence Karr, a physicist and computer consultant. After a brief encounter in adult, romance literature, Karr hopped genres to children's composition under the influence of her two children. Spanning just over a decade, Karr created sixteen, historical novels, with humorous plots, grand settings and compelling characters, an off-beat facsimile of her reader's challenges and triumphs. Notable titles include The Cave, In the Kaiser's Clutch, Playing with Fire, and the "Petticoat Party" series. Karr finds creative leeway in historical writing. She commented, "Short of inventing a time machine, this is my way of reentering the past and attempting to show my readers that while events may change, the nature of human beings is fairly constant. Courage and common decency against difficult odds have always existed."

From the guide to the Kathleen Karr Collection, 1990-2001, (University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections)