Sarah Ruhl is a playwright, author, professor and MacArthur genius grant recipient.
Max Ritvo was one of her students. When Max's pediatric cancer resurfaced, the two developed a deep friendship and exchanged an extraordinary series of letters in the four years before Max's death in 2016.
Their relationship comes alive in their collected letters, published in the book Letters from Max: A Book of Friendship. Sarah Ruhl is our guest. Mary-Louise Parker recorded her own readings of two Max Ritvo poems for this interview.