Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz

The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton

Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton first met at a poetry workshop at Boston University, where an immediate connection quickly developed into a complicated rivalry fueled by both admiration and envy.

In the years that followed, the two poets would rise to become defining voices of twentieth-century literature, their lives unfolding in strikingly parallel ways. Both struggled with mental illness, endured suicide attempts, battled self-doubt, and navigated turbulent relationships. Between classes they met weekly over martinis at the Ritz, where conversations ranged freely from sex to death. Their friendship—intimate, competitive, and deeply unconventional—mirrored the raw intensity that would come to define their poetry.

Based on in-depth research and unprecedented archival access, Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz will leave you “hungering for more of what these two literary comets burned with: the power of a little poetry. Deliriously fast-paced and erudite, this is highly recommended” (Library Journal, starred review).