By Angelica Fraine ‘23, staff writer
The Lebanon Valley College arts and humanities programs are known for their hands-on learning approach, and creative opportunities within the classroom are only set to increase with the English and creative writing department’s recent acquisition of its very own letterpress printer.
It was Dr. MC Hyland, assistant professor of English and creative writing, who first got the ball rolling. Hyland, who has a background in letterpress printing and bookmaking by hand, has been investigating how to use a letterpress as an educational resource for students since their initial start at LVC.
“I’m really interested in thinking about how to bring more either self-publishing or small-scale publishing into creative writing teaching here,” Hyland said.
With experience in running her own small press, Hyland is passionate about encouraging students to engage with how they think about the history and the making of books. When they learned of a community of retired letterpress printing instructors in Lancaster that refurbished old presses, the English and creative writing department set to work on purchasing one.
Currently, Hyland has plans for their poetry workshop to create a physical publication at the end of the semester, but she sees the letterpress in a brighter future for the arts and humanities as a whole.
“Something I would love to be able to use the press to do is to collaborate more with visual arts,” Hyland said, as letterpress printing also functions as a form of artisanal printmaking. “I’m hoping over time it will be a vehicle for bringing together some printmaking things that happen in the arts building.”
To celebrate the unveiling of the letterpress printer, the English and creative writing departments held a joint event with creative arts for both current and prospective students to participate in a bookmaking session led by Dr. Hyland, where participants worked together to create a collaborative poem that was written and recorded in the books they made. At the end, each student was given the opportunity to use the letterpress to print their own book cover.
“Using the new press was a great way to bring people together to create something fun, innovative and exciting,” Gillian Wenhold, a participant and double major in English and social justice, said.
Dr. Robert Machado, chair of humanities and director of English, aims to continue utilizing both the letterpress and Dr. Hyland’s expertise to create more opportunities for creative outreach to prospective humanities students, as well as encourage current majors to collaborate with their fellow peers.
“It gives us a really exciting tool to use in a variety of ways and places within our humanities programs broadly,” Machado said. “When we’re all sitting down and doing something that we would put in the realm of craft, or a kind of making that is embodied, that creates opportunities for experiences that are increasingly rarified, and you feel the difference.”
Machado and Hyland hope that this is something the English department can continue to do with the idea that what the students create will find their way outside of just the classroom.
Both faculty and students alike are excited about the future creative experiences the letterpress printer will continue to provide.