George Cram Cook
| George Cram Cook | |
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| Born |
George Cram Cook October 7, 1873 Davenport, Iowa, United States |
| Died | January 14, 1924 (aged 50) Delphi, Greece |
| Other names | Jig Cook |
| Alma mater | Harvard |
| Occupation | Theatre Producer |
| Known for | Provincetown Players |
| Spouse(s) | Sara H Swain Molly Price Susan Glaspell |
| Children |
Nilla Cram Cook Harl Cook |
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George Cram Cook or Jig Cook (October 7, 1873 – January 14, 1924) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, novelist, poet, and university professor. Believing it was his personal mission to inspire others, Cook led the founding of the Provincetown Players, the first modern American theatre company. During his seven-year tenure with the group Cook oversaw the production of nearly one-hundred new plays by fifty American playwrights. He is particularly remembered for producing the first plays of Eugene O'Neill, along with those of Cook's wife Susan Glaspell, and several other noted writers. As a professor at the University of Iowa from 1896 to 1899, Cook taught what is considered to be the first ever creative writing course. Titled "Verse-Making," the course was continued by Cook's colleagues at the university after his departure where it gradually evolved into the world's first and most renowned creative writing program, the famed Iowa Writer's Workshop.
Cram wrote: "I was born and raised in Davenport, Iowa, where my family was one of the town's oldest and most wealthy. My father, a corporate lawyer, strongly encouraged my education from a young age, while my mother instilled in me a passion for culture and the arts. I completed my 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, where he would lay some of the foundation for what would eventually become the famed Iowa Writers Workshop. He was also an English professor at Stanford University during the 1902 academic year.
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