George Cram Cook

George Cram Cook or Jig Cook (7 October 1873 – 14 January 1924) was an American novelist, poet, and playwright. He was a lover of ancient Greece, an idealist who dreamt of spiritual communism.

Cook was born in Davenport, Iowa. He was the son of a wealthy family. His father, a corporate lawyer, strongly encouraged his education from a young age. He completed his bachelor's degree at Harvard in 1893. He continued his studies at the University of Heidelberg in 1894 and at the University of Geneva the following year.

Upon completing his education Cook taught English literature at the University of Iowa from 1895 until 1899. He was also an English professor at Stanford University during the 1902 academic year.

With his wife, dramatist Susan Glaspell, Cook established the Provincetown Players in 1915, an important step in the development of theatre in the United States. Cook would lead the Provincetown Players until 1919, at which time he took a sabbatical. He returned in 1920 and would remain in charge until he was relived of his duties by Eugene O'Neill. He then moved to Greece where he died. He is buried at Delphi.^[1]

Cook's poetry appears in the volume Greek Coins: Poems of George Cram Cook published posthumously in 1925 by George H. Doran Company; the book includes a photographic frontispiece portrait of the author and three essays by Floyd Dell, Edna Kenton, and Susan Glaspell.

Notes

1. ^ Sarlós, Robert K.. Jig Cook and the Provincetown Players: Theatre in Ferment. 1982: University of Massachusetts Press. 

Sources

• Encyclopedia Britannica
• History of the Provincetown Playhouse

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