Kenneth Trainor

Ken Trainor is a lifelong, “free-range” Catholic who spent the 7.5 years immediately following Vatican II in the Chicago Archdiocesan seminary system. He left the seminary to study in Rome, then completed his BA in Literature at Loyola University of Chicago. Some years later, he added an MA in creative writing from Colorado State University.

A storyteller, chronicler of life, and occasional provocateur, he has been a community journalist and newspaper editor in Oak Park, IL, for the past 20 years. Since 1985, he honed his storytelling skills as a weekly columnist for newspapers in Ft. Collins,CO; Mt. Pleasant, MI; and Oak Park. In the 1990s, he wrote a monthly parenting column for Chicago Parent Magazine. His son, Dylan, now an adult, was frequently the focus.

He was named best columnist in the weekly newspaper category by the Illinois Press Association four times.

In the distant past, Ken taught high school religion in Chicago and writing courses at Colorado State University. He also led a grant-funded language arts workshop titled Creative Generations, which brought together fourth-graders and residents of a local nursing home.

Born and raised in Oak Park, the hometown of Ernest Hemingway and, for a good stretch, Frank Lloyd Wright, he has traveled in Europe, South America, Cuba, Jordan, and Israel, seeking more grist for the mill.

His first book, We Dare to Say – An Adventure in Journaling, was published by ACTA in 2007.