ands as America's most
cruelly realistic treatment of certain city conditions. In the choice of
Mr. Augustus Thomas's "In Mizzoura"--"The Witching Hour" having so often
been used in dramatic collections--the Editor believes he has
represented this playwright at a time when his dramas were most racy and
native.
This third volume, therefore, brings examples of the present American
stagecraft to date. Had his policy of selection not been exclusive, but
rather inclusive of plays easily accessible to the student, the Editor
might have reached out for Mr. George C. Hazelton's and Mr. Benrimo's
"The Yellow Jacket," Mr. Charles Kenyon's "Kindling," and Mr. A.E.
Thomas's "Her Husband's Wife." He might likewise have included William
Vaughn Moody's "The Great Divide." These are all representative plays by
American dramatists for some future anthologist, when present editions
become rare.
But here are offered plays that will enrich the American dramatic
library because of their rarity, and for that reason others have been
excluded, which are easily procurable in print.
Through the courteous co-operation of Dr. Fred W. Atkinson, Professor
Brander Matthews, officials of the New York Public Library, The Library
Society of Philadelphia, Mr. Robert Gould Shaw, Custodian of the
Dramatic Collection of Harvard College Library, and through the generous
response of the owners of copyrights and manuscripts, the present volume
is made possible. The Editor, through every phase of his work, has had
the unswerving encouragement and assistance of his wife.
MONTROSE J. MOSES.
New Hartford, Conn.
August, 1920.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GENERAL WORKS
A large bibliography of standard works on the American
Theatre was given in Volume I of the present collection. A
very few of the titles have been repeated here, with the additional
inclusion of books which will present the essential spirit of
modern American playwriting. Some of these works mentioned
contain further bibliographies, and these will enable the student
to go as far in the field as desired. There are still unblazed trails for
the research worker, but these trails are becoming fewer and
fewer, as interest in the study of American Drama as a social
and artistic force progresses.
ATKINSON, F.W. American Plays. Private Catalogue. Brooklyn, N.Y.
BAKER, GEORGE PIERCE. Dramatic Technique. Boston: Houghton. 1919.
BURTON, RICHARD. The New American Drama. New York: Crowell. 1913.
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