Provincetown, located on the Eastern most tip of Cape Cod, was primarily a fishing village in the late 1800s and early 1900s. But in 1898, something occurred that changed the face of Provincetown. It was a destructive storm that laid waste to many parts of the New England coast. The storm was known as the Portland Gale, because of a ship (the S.S. Portland) that went down in a sea turned ferocious by hurricane-force winds And Provincetown was not spared. This brings us to Susan Glaspell, an aspiring playwright and novelist who lived in Provincetown.
Susan and her husband lived in Provincetown, and often spent their summers in Greenvich Village. It seems artists of many kinds have a way of gravitating to hubs of creativity, and Greenwich Village was one such place. It wasn't long before Susan was inviting poets, writers, painters and others to her house in Provincetown. At this time, many of the wharves and piers and fishing warehouses there lay largely abandoned due to the Portland Gale. This coincidence led to what became a seasonal migration of Greenwich Village artists to Provincetown. In 1899, Charles Hawthorne established a school of art there which drew art students to the scenic coastal panorama, and sensational light. the school's emphasis was on figure painting and impressionism. It was called the Cape Cod School of Art. Soon, the abandoned structures of the storm-damaged wharves came alive with artistic endeavors of many kinds, and Provincetown was re-born as an art colony.
Susan Glaspell and her husband, George Cram Cook often hosted dramatic readings at their house. But in 1915, they acquired a warehouse on the wharf and with a small group of others, founded the Provincetown Players. One of the first plays read there was "Suppressed Desires" co-written by Glaspell and Cook. Shortly thereafter, Glaspell arranged the first ever reading of a play by Eugene O'Neill, "Bound East for Cardiff". The Provincetown Players quickly found a place in the annals of theatre history, hosting many notable performances by the likes of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Theodore Dreiser, and others.
For more about the remarkable Susan Glaspell, see today's post on Yesterday's Myth.
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6 comments:
What a dynamic woman! Seems she had the best of both worlds as far as living arrangements, and had the best of all possible worlds as far as friendships.
I've always loved reading about the lives of artists, their associations with one another. The way they shared their works with others, and inspired one another.
Dan, thanks for posting this . . . and thanks for introducing me to a community of Bloggers who have shared and inspired me with their gifts.
Hey, Dee! Thanks for taking the time to get into the story. You and Stickup Artist keep me going with your frequent checking in to my posts. I have a # of readers that show up now and then. Everyone is dealing with their own lives, and have more or less time to poke around on line. But, blogging is an interesting world. Your posts always get me stirred up. (That's a good thing.) Stickup's posts always make me pine to be out there with nature. Another good thing. I am so in love with Susan Glaspell, and she isn't even in this world anymore!
Oh! She must have known Louise Bryant, who was in the Provincetown Players with Jack Reed. A part of my husband's and my wedding trip in NYC was hunting down various places where Louise and Jack lived in the city and in Croton-on-Hudson.
I read what you wrote in your comments about loving Susan Glaspell. (I have this huge admiration for Louise Bryant.) This is exciting for me to learn about someone else from that group. I will check out your other post.
Lydia, Wasn't Jack Reed an Oregonian? I did see the nude Bryant on the beach at Provincetown. Also, when Provincetown Players introduced O'Neill's Bound East for Cardiff, the second play on the billing was "The Game" by Louise Bryant. A morality play of sorts in which Reed played the role of Death. I think by this time, Louise was already having an affair with O'Neill.
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