Susan Glaspell

Who was Susan Glaspell?

Susan Keating Glaspell was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, actress, novelist, and journalist. With her husband George Cram Cook she founded the Provincetown Players, the first modern American theater company. During the Great Depression she served in the Works Progress Administration as Midwest Bureau Director of the Federal Theater Project.

A prolific writer, Glaspell is known to have composed nine novels, fifteen plays, over fifty short stories, and one biography. Often set in her native Iowa, these semi-autobiographical tales frequently address contemporary issues, such as gender, ethics, and dissent, while featuring deep, sympathetic characters who make principled stands.

A best-selling author in her own time, Glaspell's novels and plays fell out of print after her death, during which time she was remembered primarily for discovering Eugene O'Neill. Critical reassessment has led to renewed interest in her career, and she is today recognized as a pioneering feminist writer and America's first important modern female playwright. Her one-act play Trifles is frequently cited as one of the greatest works of American theater.