Letters from Max

By Sarah Ruhl

From the author of Eurydice and The Clean House comes a profound and resonant tribute to the power of writing to make meaning in tragic circumstances.

Adapted from Ruhl's 2018 epistolary book Letters from Max: A Poet, a Teacher, a Friendship, weaves together poems and letters between celebrated playwright Sarah Ruhl and poet Max Ritvo, Ruhl's student who died of cancer at age 25. When 20-year-old Max asks to join Ruhl's playwriting course at Yale despite having no experience writing plays, Ruhl accepts him and the two become fast friends. When Max's childhood cancer recurs, their correspondence deepens, taking in poetic theory and dramatic construction as well as the steady schedule of doctor's visits and chemotherapy sessions that more and more make up Max's life. However, this play is never maudlin or sentimental, but is instead a warm and very funny examination of the resilience of the human spirit.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1636702562
• ISBN13: 9781636702568
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group