Panel: The Tactile Page: Poetry, Process, and Letterpress

Davis Library Room 295

Moderator: Pr Carlina Duan

Panelists:

• Ross Gay, 2026 Frank B. Hanes Writer-in-Residence
• Nadia Clifton, Special Collections Instruction Librarian, Wilson Special Collections Library
• Josh Hockensmith, Book and print artist
• Aaron Smithers, Special Collections Research & Instructional Services Librarian

How do poets pay attention to language as a material form? What might the letterpress teach us about rejuvenating our relationships to making and reading poetic text? How do poets and printers engage with the physical life and process of inking words on a page? Please join Hanes Writer-in-Residence Ross Gay and the Creative Writing Program for a special panel discussion on poetic attention and the letterpress, where we explore these questions, and more! This conversation will feature award-winning poet and essayist Ross Gay, author of Book of Delights and Be Holding—alongside UNC librarians, poets, and printmakers. Together, we will explore poetry of the handmade, followed by a live demo of the University Libraries' letterpress.