Writers and art patrons from the Statesboro community will flock to The Walnut Room behind Chops on Main tonight for The Burning Swamp Reading Series.

Burning Swamp began in October of 2012 through collaboration between two GSU writing and linguistics professors: Jared Sexton and Emma Bolden. The event showcases local writers and a wide array of writing styles. Writers of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and even spoken word poetry can be found in the Swamp.

This month’s event will feature five writers including poet Eric Nelson; writing students Heather Nysewander, Joey Blackwell and Yavaria Ryan; and student and professor Bob Marsh.

“The Burning Swamp Reading Series is unique in that it welcomes both student writers and writers from the faculty and the community.  That way, GSU students can hear the great work their classmates and professors are writing in a way that celebrates us all as writers and as equals,” Emma Bolden, Georgia Southern University writing and linguistics professor, said.

The live reading event gives student, faculty and community writers the opportunity to present their work in a live, welcoming setting.

“I think it’s an opportunity to kind of introduce new students to that. Those that are interested in graduate school are going to find that they’re going to be reading in public,” Jared Sexton, GSU writing and linguistics professor, said.

The event happens once a month, and a new set of readers is cycled in to present each time.  Recommendations for readers and volunteer readers are accepted to promote a diverse experience every month.

“I think both of us feel that it’s important to let young writers know that writing is still something that’s happening because so many people think it’s something only dead people do and we just kind of read things that dead people have done. When in fact, there’s a thriving community of writers in this country,” Sexton said.