Eugene O'Neill - Modern Literature Collection Authors - Research Guides at Washington University in St. Louis Skip to Main Content It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. WashU Libraries Menu back to library.wustl.edu WU Libraries Research Guides Modern Literature Collection Authors Eugene O'Neill Search this Guide Search Modern Literature Collection Authors A guide to the Modern Literature Collection's most prominent authors and collections, with related resources. Selected Authors and Their Collections Manuscripts / Modern Literature Collection LibGuide Mary Jo Bang Samuel Beckett Robert Creeley James Dickey Stanley Elkin T. S. Eliot Raymond Federman Donald Finkel William Gaddis Isabella Gardner William H. Gass A. E. Hotchner Fannie Hurst Charles Johnson James Merrill Howard Nemerov Eugene O'Neill Biography Finding Aids Cataloged Items Digital Content Blog Posts Additional Resources (external links) William Jay Smith May Swenson Alexander Trocchi Constance Urdang Mona Van Duyn David Wagoner Joy Williams Tennessee Williams Biography   Eugene Gladstone O’Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. O’Neill was born in a Broadway hotel room in Longacre Square (now Times Square), in the Barrett Hotel, to an Irish immigrant father and a mother of Irish descent. His father was an actor and his mother accompanied him on frequent tours with a theater company, so Eugene was sent to a Catholic boarding school, where he discovered a love of reading. He decided to devote himself full-time to writing plays after his experience in 1912–13 at a sanatorium where he was recovering from tuberculosis. O’Neill had previously written poetry and been employed by the New London Telegraph, as a reporter. In the 1910’s, O’Neill became a part of the Greenwich Village literary scene, including the Provincetown Players, which staged his early plays. His work was influenced by “radical” thinkers like Communist Labor Party founder John Reed. O’Neill brought to American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish playwright August Strindberg. His plays were among the first to include speeches in American vernacular and involve characters on the fringes of society, where they struggle to maintain their hopes and aspirations, but ultimately slide into disillusionment and despair. O’Neill’s first published play, Beyond the Horizon, opened on Broadway in 1920 to great acclaim, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His first major hit was The Emperor Jones, which also ran on Broadway in 1920, and obliquely commented on the U.S. occupation of Haiti that was a topic of debate in that year’s presidential election.  His best-known plays include Anna Christie (Pulitzer Prize 1922), Desire Under the Elms (1924), Strange Interlude (Pulitzer Prize 1928), Mourning Becomes Electra (1931), and his only well-known comedy, Ah, Wilderness!, a wistful re-imagining of his youth. In 1936, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. After a ten-year hiatus, O’Neill’s now-renowned play The Iceman Cometh was produced in 1946. The following year, A Moon for the Misbegotten failed to make an impression, but decades later gained recognition as being among his best works. O’Neill suffered from many illnesses in his life, including alcoholism and depression, and Parkinsons-like tremors took away his ability to write the last 10 years of his life, leaving many scripts unfinished. He died (also in a hotel room) in Boston, Mass., in 1953. Both Iceman and Moon were heavily autobiographical in nature, as was Long Day’s Journey Into Night, widely considered to be his finest, but published and produced posthumously. Although his written instructions had stipulated that it not be made public until 25 years after his death, it was published in 1956 and produced on stage to tremendous critical acclaim and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1957. Other posthumously-published works include A Touch of the Poet (1958) and More Stately Mansions (1967). Finding Aids Harley Hammerman Collection on Eugene O’Neill The Harley Hammerman Collection of Eugene O’Neill consist of manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and other materials related to the life and work of playwright Eugene O’Neill. Along with first editions of the playwright’s works located in Rare Books, the collection features autograph and typed letters written by O’Neill to significant cultural figures, handwritten manuscripts and typescripts, photographs of O’Neill and his immediate family and friends, and rare handbills, posters, scripts, recordings, films, and promotional books related to productions of his plays. Eugene O'Neill Collection The Eugene O'Neill Collection consists of theater programs and photographs related to the life and work of O'Neill, and his father. Cataloged Items Cataloged items from the Harley Hammerman Collection on Eugene O'Neill Books, periodicals and other items that Harley Hammerman collected on or by Eugene O'Neill O'Neill as author, signer, blurb writer, former owner Books, periodicals and other items associated with O'Neill O'Neill as subject Cataloged items with content about O'Neill Digital Content eOneill.com: An Electronic Eugene O’Neill Archive Archived version of Harley Hammerman's website on Eugene O'Neill, which includes contextual information, audio and video performances, links to other resources, and more Blog Posts Washington University Libraries Acquire Harley Hammerman Collection on Eugene O’Neill Announcement of the acquisition and overview of the collection. Additional Resources (external links) Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site Website for the national historic site where O'Neill wrote his final and most memorable plays The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Eugene O'Neill International Society Founded in 1979, the Eugene O’Neill Society is a non-profit scholarly organization devoted to the promotion and study of the life and works of Eugene O’Neill and the drama and theatre for which his work was in large part the instigator and model for American Theatre in the 20th Century and beyond. << Previous: Howard Nemerov Next: William Jay Smith >> Last Updated: Jul 23, 2021 11:23 AM URL: https://libguides.wustl.edu/modlitauthors Print Page Login to LibApps Subjects: American Literature, English Literature, Modern Literature Collection & Manuscripts, Special Collections For Students For Faculty For Staff Visitors & Alumni Ask Us Research Support Staff Directory Make a Gift University Libraries MSC 1061-141-B Washington University in St. Louis 1 Brookings Dr. St. Louis, MO 63130 Instagram Facebook Twitter