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The career of Susan Glaspell (1876-1948), the American playwright and novelist, follows closely the trajectory of other "reclaimed" American women writers of the century such as Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Zora Neale Hurston. She was well known in her time, effaced from canonical consideration after her death, and rediscovered years later through the surfacing of one work around which critical attention has focused. Glaspell was a respected international playwright and novelist who amassed some of the most impressive credentials in American theater history, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1931. Over the past fifteen years, she has been rediscovered through the work of leading feminist scholars; and her one-act play Trifles and its short story form, "A Jury of Her Peers," have become classics. This book is the first collection devoted to the study of the body of Glaspell's work. Essays by leading playwrights and scholars provide an array of perspectives on the writer and her work. The book features the first complete Glaspell bibliography, including original reviews of her plays and fiction and recent critical studies of her writing. Linda Ben-Zvi is Professor of Theater, Tel Aviv University. She is also author of Theater in Israel (Michigan, 1996).

The first volume of its kind in English or Hebrew, Theater in Israel gathers original essays, interviews, and commentaries by leading international theater practitioners and critics. The book explores the rich history and diversity of Israel's theater and illustrates the ways in which this politically committed theater mirrors the historical and cultural forces that have shaped Israeli-Arab relations, the events in the Middle East, and the post-Holocaust Jewish experience. The collection provides a thorough and engaging survey of the playwrights, directors, actors, and productions that comprise this dynamic theater, a theater whose evolution and ideology diverges from Anglo-American models. The book's early essays trace the development of Hebrew drama from its inception in Moscow in 1918 to the establishment of a national theater and the emergence of a national repertoire. Succeeding essays explore the personalities and themes that have dominated the Israeli stage, featuring interviews with leading Israeli playwrights, actors, directors, and dramaturgs. The book also provides highlights from the first Palestinian and Israeli Arab Theater Symposium, focusing on the history, themes, and future of Arab theater. The contributors include Karen Alkalay-Gut, Shosh Avigal, Linda Ben-Zvi, Erella Brown, Joseph Chaikin, Scott Cummings, Ben-Ami Feingold, Gad Kaynar, Shimon Lev- Ari, Shimon Levy, Gabriella Moscati-Steindler, Freddie Rokem, Eli Rozik, Gershon Shaked, Chaim Shoham, Michael Taub, Dan Urian, Shoshana Weitz, and Nurit Yaari. "Impressive historical, critical, and theoretical depth . . . a sophisticated introduction to theater in Israel." --Anne Golomb Hoffman, Fordham University Linda Ben-Zvi is Professor of English and Theater, Colorado State University, and Professor of Theater, Tel Aviv University.