The Word for Snow


The Word for Snow is a one-act play by Don DeLillo. Inspired by global climate change, the play concerns a pilgrim who seeks out a professor who has fallen silent.
The play was commissioned by the Chicago Humanities Festival and premiered on October 27, 2007, in a production by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Subsequent to a West End production in 2012, Manhattan's Karma book store published the manuscript in 2014.

Adaptation

The play was adapted into a film titled Mare's Nest by Ben Rivers, which had its world premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival in August 2025.