With holiday festivities in sight, a quartet of talented authors and poets are convening to host a timely benefit for Clemson University’s Paw Pantry.
Anna Castro Spratt, the City of Greenville’s inaugural Youth Poet Laureate, and Stevie Edwards, poetry editor of The South Carolina Review, will read at the 2023 Writers’ Harvest, a benefit for Paw Pantry on Tuesday, November 14, at 7 p.m.
The event, which started in 1998, will be held on campus at the Self Auditorium in the Strom Thurmond Institute, located at 230 Kappa St.
“The Writers’ Harvest is a wonderful event for showcasing both known and not-yet-known poets and writers among the Clemson faculty and student body. It’s always entertaining, surprising and helps set our sights on giving back during the holiday season through supporting Paw Pantry.”
Cameron Bushnell, Director of the Pearce Center for Professional Communication
The reading will also feature Ella Kindt and Ashton Wronikowski, the respective undergraduate and graduate winners of the Writers’ Harvest Student Awards.
Writers request a cash contribution or donation of canned or nonperishable foods for admission to the reading. Checks should be made out to Clemson University with Paw Pantry in the memo. A QR code will be provided for credit card donations at the door. Credit card donations can be paid in advance on Paw Pantry’s website by clicking “Make a Monetary Donation.” Show the receipt from your donation for admission.
Writers’ Harvest readings are held during the holiday season by writers and poets throughout the country. The charity benefits were first launched by Share Our Strength, a national organization that aims to end hunger and poverty. The event is sponsored by the Pearce Center for Professional Communication
Paw Pantry is a Universitywide movement aimed at reducing food insecurity and promoting wellbeing. Donations of food, household items, school supplies and hygienic products are provided to students. Paw Pantry is located in Sirrine Hall at room 233.
For more information, contact Mike Pulley by email at wpulley@clemson.edu or call 864-650-6094.
About the writers:
Anna Castro Spratt is the City of Greenville’s inaugural Youth Poet Laureate. She is a student at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, a Brazilian-American and lover of acoustic music. At 16 years old, Anna’s work has won more than a dozen awards and been featured in “Cargoes: Hollins Literary” magazine, “The Ridge” and “The Collective Catalyst,” among others. As the Youth Poet Laureate, her passions lie in literature education, youth advocacy and cat videos.
Stevie Edwards holds a doctorate in creative writing from the University of North Texas and a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from Cornell University. Stevie’s poems have appeared in “Poetry Magazine,” “American Poetry Review,” “TriQuarterly,” “The Southern Review” and elsewhere. She is the author of poetry collections “Quiet Armor” (2023), “Humanly” (2015) and “Good Grief” (2012), as well as the chapbook “Sadness Workshop” (2018). Edwards is the poetry editor of The South Carolina Review and a lecturer at Clemson University. In recent years, she has been a recipient of a Tennessee Williams Scholarship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and a VSC Fellowship from Vermont Studio Centers. Originally a Michigander, she now lives in South Carolina with her husband and a small herd of rescue pit bulls: Daisy, Tinkerbell and Peaches.
Ella Kindt is a junior English major and poetry minor from Charleston. She’s the copy editor for “Chronicle” magazine and published two pieces in the spring 2023 edition. She draws inspiration from surrealism and explores themes of identity and nostalgia.
Ashton Wronikowski is pursuing a master’s degree in English at Clemson University. She received her undergraduate degree in English literature from West Liberty University, where she solidified her love for the written word. She aims to continue her career in academia and is upbeat about the years ahead.
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