Susan Glaspell: A Research and Production Sourcebook
Co-founder of the Provincetown Players and one of its leading
writers, Susan Glaspell won the Pulitzer Prize for Alison's
House (1930) and was also successful as an actress, producer, and
novelist. Her plays were compared, often favorably, with
O'Neill's. After a period of eclipse, Glaspell's
concern with woman's desire for selfhood brought her plays to
the attention of feminist scholarship beginning in the 1970s. Mary
Papke argues in this work for a reassessment of Glaspell as a major
American playwright. This sourcebook begins with a bio-critical
survey and includes plot summaries for each staged work, complete
with production history and critical reception. An annotated
bibliography of primary works includes plays, novels, short
fiction, nonfiction, nonprint, and archival sources. The secondary
bibliography documents reviews and provides extensive annotations
for a broad range of materials. Chronologically organized, it
constitutes a detailed examiniation of Glaspell criticism.
.,."makes a strong argument throughout this exhaustive guide for a reexamination of Glaspell's significance in the American canon, both as dramatist and minor novelist. ...her detailed summations and inclusion of obscure sources should provoke further investigation. As the only research guide available on Glaspell this volume is essential... for all collections focusing on American theater history or feminist literature. Highly recommended for all academic libraries."-Choice, October 1993
