SMU’s celebration of the written word organized by students and SMU Program Council began in 1975. Former SMU English professor Jack Myers recalls the early years in his essay, “Personal recollections of the SMU Literary Festival: 1975-1995,” which was published in From High on the Hilltop: Marshall Terry’s History of SMU. Jack Myers writes:
“The original idea for starting the week-long festival was brought to SMU by newly hired poet Michael Ryan who had participated in Notre Dame’s 1974 literary festival. Ryan was so struck by the power and excited ambiance of Notre Dame’s celebration of living literature that in speaking of his glowing experience to his classes, he created enough enthusiasm that two of his students, who happened to be student senators, took the idea (with the blessing of then English Department Chairman Marshall Terry) of having a festival to the SMU senate where the proposed event got funded for $5,000 on a one-time basis for the 1975 academic year.”
The early years featured Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winners as well as new and local writers. Creative writing majors originally selected and invited authors, while English department faculty advised the student group and hosted receptions and dinners at their homes. The format and dates have changed through the years, and some years the festival was not held. In recent years, the festival was renamed The Dallas Literary Festival to welcome more participants outside of campus and offer more venues throughout the metroplex. For more information about this year’s literary festival, visit https://www.dallasliteraryfestival.org.
Programs and posters of selected past festivals are now available online.
List of featured authors through the years
This post was written by Cynthia Franco, librarian at DeGolyer Library and interim University Archivist. For questions about collections in the University Archives, please contact degolyer@smu.edu.