the poet is a verb

Name: the poet is a verb
Start: 2026-04-30
End: 2026-04-30
Location: Chapel Hill Public Library, Room B

April 30, 2026 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Chapel Hill Public Library, Room B

THURSDAY APRIL 30, 2026 | 6-8 PM
Chapel Hill Public Library, Room B

Chapel Hill Poet Laureate Donovan Livingston invites you to the fourth annual installment of “the poet is a verb,” featuring a showcase of Triangle-area poets followed by a community open mic.

Featured poets will start us off and then the open mic will begin around 7pm.

This event is free and open to all ages.

Part of our 2026 programming for National Poetry Month in collaboration with Chapel Hill Public Library. The Town has teamed up with Chapel Hill Poet Laureate Dr. Donovan Livingston to offer a sampling of interactive, poetry-inspired experiences in April. Learn more.

Featured Poets

Dr. Donovan Livingston (he/him)

Livingston is the current Chapel Hill Poet Laureate (2025-2026). He’s an award-winning educator, spoken word poet, and public speaker whose words have inspired millions. With a passion for empowering young minds and communities, Livingston believes every child has the right to “lift off” and achieve their dreams. He serves as Teaching Assistant Professor of Music and Director of College Thriving at UNC Chapel Hill. His work uses culture, hip-hop, and spoken word poetry to ignite change and foster student success.

WEBSITE INSTAGRAM

Joey Lew, MD (she/her)

Joey Lew is the author of Insensible Losses (Nymeria Publishing, 2024). She holds an MFA in poetry from UNCG and an MD from UCSF and is currently a surgical resident at Duke. Her work can be seen in a number of literary magazines and medical journals including most recently Four Tulips, The American Journal of Surgery, and JAMA.

INSTAGRAM

James Daniels//james solomon (he/him)

James Daniels // james solomon is a Black Southern creative, educator, and community peacebuilder. He is Greensboro’s second Poet Laureate and has poetry publications under Southern Cultures, Greensboro Review, SoftSavagePress, and others, as well as Bull City Press who published his first chapbook God-Damned Eden. He’s been teaching writing and hip-hop for 15 years, and he is currently a professor and the coordinator of Creative Writing at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.