Anne Commire (11 August 1939 – 23 February 2012) was an American playwright and editor who frequently wrote about women's issues and struggles. Her first play, ''Shay'', about a young pregnant high school dropout, was noted by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' for having "sharp comic dialogue" despite the weighty subject matter. Commire received the Eugene O'Neill Theater Award four times between 1973 and 1988.Valerie J, Nelson
Anne Commire dies at 72; playwright tackled women's hardships
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', 4 April 2012 She wrote the teleplay ''Rebel for God'' for CBS, and also has written for Dick Cavett, and Washington D.C.’s ''Spread Eagle Review,'' and Mariette Hartley’s one-woman show. She and Hartley co-wrote ''Breaking the Silence'' which was Harley's memoir about her difficult early years and how Hartley would no longer be keeping the secrets of her earlier difficult life. Commire was born in

Wyandotte, Michigan Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and it is part of the c ...

and received a bachelor's degree in 1961 from

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

. She initially worked as a teacher and an editor for reference books for

Gale Group Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research and the Gale G ...

. She later edited the sixteen-volume '' Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia'' which received the

Dartmouth Medal The Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association is awarded annually to a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, published during the previous calendar year. History Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a priv ...

for outstanding reference work in 2002. Commire died of cancer in 2012 and her papers are held by the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

Works

Plays

* ''Shay'' * ''Put Them All Together''. Premiered at the Coronet Theatre, 1982. * ''The Melody Sisters'' * ''Starting Monday'' * ''The NOW Show''

Books

* (ed.) ''Yesterday's authors of books for children : facts and pictures about authors and illustrators of books for young people, from early times to 1960'', Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1977 * (with

Mariette Hartley Mary Loretta Hartley (born June 21, 1940) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for work with Bill Bixby on ''The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series), The Incredible Hulk'' (1978) and ''Goodnight, Beantown'' (1983–1984), ...

) ''Breaking the Silence'', 1990 * (ed.) 'Historic world leaders'', Detroit : Gale Research Inc., 1994 * (ed.) '' Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia'', 17 vols., 2000. * (ed.) '' Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 women through the ages'', Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 3 vols., 2007 * ''Moorville''

References

1939 births 2012 deaths American editors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American women editors American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women {{US-playwright-stub