Susan Smith Blackburn

Biography

Susan Smith Blackburn developed a brilliant voice as a playwright who demanded that women's lives be seen with honesty and depth, producing works that played across the United States and Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. Her dramatic imagination combined wit, pathos, and political awareness, securing her reputation among both audiences and peers.

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, created shortly after her passing, keeps her commitment to female voices alive, and her resting place near Glenwood Cemetery remains a quiet witness to the talent and courage she shared so broadly.