Susan Glaspell

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Susan Keating Glaspell (July 1, 1876 – July 28, 1948) was an American playwright, novelist, reporter, and actress.

Glaspell founded the Provincetown Players, the first modern American theatre company to be known for her short stories (fifty were published). She also wrote nine books, fifteen plays, and a biography.

These semi-autobiographical stories, often set in her native Midwest, often explore current social issues, such as gender, ethics, and resistance, while still presenting deep, sympathetic characters with principled stands.

Alison's House in 1930 received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama after her husband's death in Greece.

Glaspell worked in Chicago for the Works Progress Administration, where she was the Midwest Bureau Director of the Federal Theater Project during the Great Depression.

Despite being a best-selling author in her own time, Glaspell's book was out of print shortly after her death.

Eugene O'Neill, a playwright, was also known for her discovery. Since the late twentieth century, a critical reassessment of women's contributions has fueled renewed interest in her work and a re-launch of her fame.

Glaspell, a pioneering feminist writer and America's first significant female playwright, has been honored in the early 21st century.

Trifles (1916), her one-act performance, is often regarded as one of the finest American theatre works.

She remains "America's best-kept mystery," according to Michael Billington, Britain's top theatre critic.

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Early life and career

Susan Glaspell was born in Iowa in 1876 to Elmer Glaspell, a hay farmer, and Alice Keating, a public school teacher. Raymond, Raymond, her older brother, and Frank, her younger brother. She was raised on a small farm just below the Mississippi River bluffs along the western edge of Davenport, Iowa. Following the Black Hawk Purchase, her paternal great-grandfather James Glaspell obtained this house from the federal government. "Susie" was remembered as "a precocious child" who would often rescue stray animals from a relatively conservative upbringing. Glaspell's worldview was also influenced by her grandmother's pioneer stories as the family farm became increasingly surrounded by residential development. She recalled regular visits by Indians to the farm in the years long before Iowa statehoodhood was established. Glaspell was also influenced by the Sauk chief's autobiography, arguing that Americans should be worthy inheritors of the property. Her father died on the farm in 1891, and the family moved to Davenport.

Glaspell was a superb student in the city's public schools, taking an advanced course of study, and delivering a commencement address at her 1894 graduation. She was making a regular income as a journalist for a local newspaper by eighteen. She wrote a weekly 'Society' column, ridiculing Davenport's upper crust by the age of 20.

Glaspell, a twenty-one, was accepted at Drake University, despite the local belief that college made women unsuitable for marriage. She excelled in male-dominated debate competitions, winning the right to represent Drake at the state debate tournament her senior year. Glaspell was cited in a Des Moines Daily News article about her graduation ceremony as "a leader in the university's social and intellectual life."

Glaspell became a reporter full time for the Des Moines newspaper, a rare occurrence for a woman, particularly because she was supposed to cover the state legislature and murder cases. Glaspell resigned at the age of twenty-four after covering the trial of a woman accused of murdering her abusive husband.

She returned to Davenport to concentrate on writing fantasy. Unlike many young writers, she had her stories accepted and was published in the most widely circulated periodicals, including Harper's, Munsey's, Ladies' Home Journal, and Woman's Home Companion. It was a golden age of short stories. She borrowed money from a short story magazine to finance her move to Chicago, where she wrote her first book, The Glory of the Conquered, which was published in 1909. And the New York Times announced that it was a best-seller, and the New York Times announced it was a best-seller.

In 1911, Glaspell published her second book, The Visioning. "It does demonstrate Miss Glaspell's tenacity," the New York Times said of the book, "it does show her abilities, which placed her at the top of the American storyteller rankings." In 1915, she published Fidelity, her third book. It was described as "a significant and real contribution to American novels," the New York Times said.

When working in Davenport, Glaspell, I met with other local writers to form the Davenport group. George Cram Cook, who was teaching English literature at the University of Iowa, was one of them. He was a wealthy family and also a gentleman farmer. Glaspell fell in love with him despite being in his second, unhappy marriage. In 1913, he divorced and the couple wed.

Glaspell and Cook descended on Greenwich Village, New York City, to escape Davenport's disapproving gossip and seek a larger artistic space. They were among the first avant-garde cultural revivalists and activists of the twentieth century, including Upton Sinclair, Emma Goldman, and John Reed. Glaspell became a leading member of Heterodoxy, a young feminist debating group of the premier women's rights crusaders. She underwent surgery to remove a fibroid tumor after a string of miscarriages.

Glaspell and Cook, as well as many others in their creative circles, traveled to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where they rented a cottage in 1915. Glaspell, who is still recovering from surgery, collaborated with Cook and others to develop an experimental theatre company, a "creative collective." They appeared in their first performances in a refurbished fishing wharf that had been arranged for by another member of their group. The Provincetown Playhouse will continue to develop and produce artistic plays that reflect current American issues. The Players had a boycott on Broadway during the more commercial and escapist melodramas.

Glaspell will be best known for the twelve groundbreaking plays she submitted to the company over the next seven years, despite the successes of her earlier fiction. Trifles (1916), her first play, was based on the murder trial she had covered as a young reporter in Des Moines. It was a snapping success, riveting audiences with its daring views of justice and morality, deemed a pioneering feminist masterpiece. Since being one of the most anthologized performances in American theatre history, it has since been one of the most anthologized works in American theatre history. In 1921, she finished Inheritors; it is certainly America's first modern historical drama since three generations of a pioneer family. She completed The Verge, one of America's oldest expressionist art, this year.

The Provincetown playwrights often took part in the creation of their own plays, believing that an amateur group would result in increased creativity. Despite being untrained, Glaspell's name has gained more attention as an actress. "She had only to be on the stage, and the audience came alive," William Zorach, a young member of the group, told us. A Glaspell performance brought Jacques Copeau, a legendary French theatre director and critic, to tears. "She is a truly wonderful actress," he described her as.

Eugene O'Neill, who would eventually be regarded as one of America's best playwrights, was discovered when considering new plays to produce. Edna St. Vincent Millay, Theodore Dreiser, and Floyd Dell, Glaspell's cousin from the Davenport group, are among the group's most notable figures.

The players have migrated their theatre to New York City after their first two seasons in Provincetown. Playwrights began to see it as a way to get picked up by other, larger commercial theatre venues, in breach of the company's original purpose.

Cook and Glaspell decided to leave the company that had been 'too successful.' Glaspell was on stage at the time, with her most recent play, The Verge, receiving the most laud. Glaspell and Cook immigrated to Delphi, Greece, in 1922. Cook died of glander disease in 1924, which he contracted from his dog.

Glaspell's plays were also published in print form from the start, receiving laudatory reviews from New York's most prestigious periodicals. Glaspell had already established himself as one of America's most influential new playwrights by 1918. Small & Maynard, a highly respected British publisher, began to print her plays in England in 1920. She was also well-received there. She was described as a genius by English commentators, who also ranked her above O'Neill. They compared her favorably to Henrik Ibsen, who was ranked as the most influential playwright since Shakespeare. A British version of Glaspell's book Fidelity was released, going through five editions in five weeks to please demand for Glaspell's writing. Every major newspaper and literary journal published an extensive review when Inheritors were introduced to England in 1925, the majority of whom were unanimous in their praise. "This play will live when Liverpool is a garbage heap," one vivacious reviewer predicted.

However, Glaspell's plays's fame and critical success did not translate into financial gain. Glaspell began to submit short stories for publication in order to assist herself and her husband during their time with the theater. Literary scholars explore the literary histories from this period to be her best. Glaspell also established herself as "a central figure in the modern American short story" during her productive time as a playwright.

After Cook's death, Glaspell returned to Cape Cod, where she wrote a well-received biography and tribute to her late husband, The Road to the Temple (1927). She was romantically involved with younger writer Norman H. Matson in the late twentieth century. Brook Evans (1928), Fugitive's Return (1929), and Ambrose Holt and Family (1931) were three of her best-selling books in this period, which she considered personal favorites: Brook Evans (1928), Fugitive's Return (1929), and Ambrose Holt and Family (1931). Alison's House (1930), for which she was also named the Pulitzer Prize in 1931, was also written by her. Glaspell's relationship with Matson came to an end in 1932. As she battled with depression, alcoholism, and poor health, she fell into her first and only period of low productivity.

Glaspell retired to Chicago in 1936 after being appointed Midwest Bureau Director of the Federal Theater Project during the Great Depression. She reunited with her siblings and regained control of her drinking and creativity over the next few years. When her Federal Theater Project was finished, Glaspell returned to Cape Cod. Her time in the Midwest inspired her work. Her last three books have remained increasingly focused on the region, family life, and the stumbling blocks. They included The Morning Is Near Us (1939), Norma Ashe (1942), and Judd Rankin's Daughter (1945).

Susan Glaspell died of viral pneumonia in Provincetown on July 28, 1948.

Later career

After Cook's death, Glaspell returned to Cape Cod, where she wrote a well-received biography and tribute to her late husband, The Road to the Temple (1927). She was romantically involved with younger writer Norman H. Matson during the early twenties. Brook Evans (1928), Fugitive's Return (1929), and Ambrose Holt and Family (1931). Alison's House (1930), for which she was also awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1931, was also written by her. Glaspell's friendship with Matson came to an end in 1932. She was first and only period of low productivity as she battled with anxiety, alcoholism, and poor health.

Glaspell moved to Chicago after being named Midwest Bureau Director of the Federal Theater Project during the Great Depression in 1936. She reconnected with siblings and regained control of her drinking and creativity over the next few years. When Glaspell's work for the Federal Theater Project was complete, she returned to Cape Cod. She was inspired by her years in the Midwest. Her last three books have increasingly concentrated on the area, family life, and theistic questions. They included The Morning Is Near Us (1939), Norma Ashe (1942), and Judd Rankin's Daughter (1945).

Susan Glaspell died of viral pneumonia in Provincetown on July 28, 1948.

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