Old O’Connor Hall welcomed Binghamton alumni Nathan Lipps Ph.D. ‘19 and Leah Umansky ‘02 for an insightful poetry reading, offering a deep dive into their creative journeys. Held this past Wednesday, Feb. 12 in the Jay S. & Jeanne Benet Alumni Lounge, the event explored their poetic influences, writing processes and the stories behind their works.

Lipps opened the evening with a reading from his collection, setting the tone with themes of love, death and sadness, all woven with a strong connection to nature. Originally from rural western Michigan, his upbringing plays a significant role in his work. Lipps mentioned how growing up on a farm became part of his DNA.

When asked for advice for aspiring writers, he emphasized the importance of challenging literature.

“Find good things to read,” Lipps said. “Things that you can respect, things that challenge you, not just ideologically or politically, but their intensity and style, that maybe it’s a little challenging to read, but then you get comfortable with it, but then you grow. Read and keep writing.”

Lipps is the author of “Built Around the Fire” and “The Body as Passage.” He teaches at Central State University in Ohio, and his work has appeared in “Best New Poets,” “Colorado Review,” “North American Review” and more.

Umansky is an author, poet and writing coach with three collections to her name. Since 2011, she has also hosted the COUPLET Reading Series in New York City.

Following Lipps, Umansky shared a thoughtful reading from her latest collection, “OF TYRANT,” which included the poem “Love Tyrant Love” and others. Her work delves into themes of instability, corruption and the many faces of tyranny — societal, intimate, emotional or career-related.

“I think that the poems are about the many faces of the tyrant, and it could be political, personal, romantic, professional,” Umansky said. “And so for me, it was very therapeutic. I kind of needed to write those poems to kind of get through some of the horror that was happening in the world in 2015, 2016 and after that.”

The event concluded with a Q&A session, where both poets were interviewed and discussed their creative processes further.

Lipps was asked about writing in the present political climate and shared some insights. He reflected on the state of the world, suggesting that while it might be a stretch, history has always had its dark moments, and this could be one of them. Rather than focusing on the turmoil, he prefers to write about ordinary people navigating everyday life, letting their stories unfold in simplicity.

The event provided attendees with an intimate look into the minds of two accomplished poets, each bringing their own perspective and voice to the Q&A.

Umansky reflected on her writing process and the evolving space of poetry.

“More and more people are being connected to poetry and are discovering poetry in more ways,” Umansky said. “I think we’re exposed to it in more outlets now. And I would like to think that just the stringing together of a common sentence can make someone inspired to write, to create and to do several different things.”