Let’s set the scene: There are two people with similar passions and careers in a room discussing what they do. One is a well-known name who has been around the block. The other is a fresh face, an up-and-comer making a stir. And there is a moderator. This is, clearly, a conversation about poetry. D.C. poet Reuben Jackson is moderating a discussion between poets Gerald Stern and Ross Gay. Stern is the rock who has been turning out collections of poems for decades, earning him, among other accolades, a National Book Award and the Wallace Stevens Award for mastery in the art of poetry. Gay is breaking into the literary world and just put out his first collection, Against Which. With this exciting combination, it’s hard to say who will win, er, what will be discussed. But no matter where the conversation leads, in the end, it will be good for the poetry world. Stern and Gay speak at 7:30 p.m. at the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Elizabethan Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. $12. (202) 544-7077.