Susan Glaspell (1876–1948)

Susan Keating Glaspell was born into the family of one of the founders of Davenport, Iowa. Before attending Drake University, she wrote for the Davenport Morning Republican and The Weekly Outlook. After receiving her bachelor's degree in 1899, she worked for the Des Moines Daily News and as a freelance reporter for some Chicago newspapers. Susan was married twice, firstly in 1913 to George Cram Cook, with whom she became a member of the New York City literary and political scene; and secondly to writer Norman Matson. She and Cook summered on Cape Cod and co-founded the experimental Provincetown Players with Eugene O’Neill. Susan wrote several plays including Suppressed Desires (1915) and Tickless Time (1918). She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1931 for her last play Alison’s House, about Emily Dickinson. Her novels included The Glory of the Conquered (1909), Brook Evans (1928), and The Fugitive’s Return (1929). She served as the director of the Midwest Play Bureau of the Federal Theater Project in 1936-38.