Clemson University has hosted a literary festival every year since 2008. This year’s Clemson Literary Festival will begin on Wednesday, April 10 and will last for three full days, culminating with an open mic night on that Friday at 9:30 PM.
Celebrating writers and thinkers alike, Clemson’s lit festival has hosted many prose writers, prose poets, and prose journalists over the years, including several Pulitzer Prize winners, Poets Laureate, and National Book Award winners, according to the festival’s website.
This year, the festival will feature celebrated authors Tyehimba Jess, Sarah Blackman, and Matthew Cooperman, among several other noteworthy writers.
The Tiger News had the opportunity to speak with John Pursley, a Clemson Lit Festival co-director, and ask him a few questions about the upcoming festival.
Pursley explained that the Clemson Literary Festival is “the only student run, student directed festival of its kind nationally.” He further elaborated, explaining that it exists “for anyone who has an interest in the literary arts,” encouraging students of all different majors to participate.
When asked which event he is most looking forward to, Pursley named poet Tyehimba Jess, describing his poetry as “truly top-notch.” He believes that Jess’s reading “will be something not to be missed.” Not only that, but he also looks forward to seeing the other “fabulous writers” who will appear at the festival.
Among the events scheduled for the Literary Festival, Cooper Library will host a book fair all three days from 9 AM to 12 PM.  
The Clemson Literary Festival will be free and open to the public. For more information about the Festival or its schedule, either email John Pursley at: [email protected] or visit the Festival’s website: www.clemson.edu/caah/sites/literary-festival.