KR was founded in 1939 by poet-critic John Crowe Ransom at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. During Ransom's 21-year tenure, it was the best-known and most influential literary magazine in the English-speaking world. In 1969, discouraged by the quarterly's financial burdens, Kenyon College ceased publication of KR. The journal was revived in 1979, and in 1990, Marilyn Hacker was hired as KR's first full-time editor. She quickly broadened KR's scope to include more minority and marginalized viewpoints. In 1994, David Lynn, Kenyon English professor, was named editor and a board of trustees was created to ensure the magazine's financial sustainability. Since then, the organization has expanded greatly, producing a series of well-regarded workshops and undertaking a variety of electronic initiatives.