Women Writers of the Provincetown Players: A Collection of Short Works

Barlow, Judith E.

ISBN 10: 1438427905 / ISBN 13: 9781438427904

Published by Excelsior Editions, Albany, NY, 2009

About this Item

361 pp. Tightly bound. Spine not compromised. Text is free of markings. No ownership markings. Inscribed by Judith Barlow to previous owner on front end paper. First Edition / First Printing. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.

Seller Inventory # 031554

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Women Writers of the Provincetown Players: A Collection of Short Works
• Publisher: Excelsior Editions, Albany, NY
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1438427905
• ISBN 13: 9781438427904
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

Thirteen short plays by women that were originally produced by the Provincetown Players.

Women Writers of the Provincetown Players features thirteen short plays written by women and performed by America’s most influential early twentieth-century noncommercial theater, the Provincetown Players. From their beginnings on Cape Cod in 1915 to their disbanding in New York City in 1922, the Players staged nearly one hundred dramas, roughly a third of which were composed by women, and in the process changed American drama and theater forever. Dedicated to fostering new work by Americans, the group attracted an impressive collection of talented writers, and among its offerings were some of the first modernist plays written in the United States.

Chosen for both their artistic merit and their cultural importance, the plays included here range from naturalistic tragedies to poetic allegories to witty satires, and together they provide a valuable look at women’s concerns during a period of intense civil rights activity just prior to the granting of female suffrage. In addition to works by well-known writers like Susan Glaspell, Djuna Barnes, and Edna St. Vincent Millay, the book also includes works by such significant but lesser-known figures as Neith Boyce, Louise Bryant, Rita McCann Wellman, and Alice Rostetter, as well as critical-biographical prefaces to each play and an introduction that explains the importance of these plays and the role of early twentieth-century women playwrights in American theater history.

 “Barlow’s collection introduces readers to fascinating plays from a rich and important historical era.” — J. Ellen Gainor, author of Susan Glaspell in Context: American Theater, Culture, and Politics, 1915–48

“These are plays that we have been reading about for years; it is exciting to experience the actual texts and make one’s own judgment.” — Carol DeBoer-Langworthy, editor of The Modern World of Neith Boyce: Autobiography and Diaries

About the Author

Judith E. Barlow is Professor of English and Women's Studies at the University at Albany–SUNY. Her books include Plays by American Women: 1900–1930; Plays by American Women: 1930–1960; and Final Acts: The Creation of Three Late O'Neill Plays.