<i>For Hadoop systems, using Cloudera's distribution can be very helpful with this, but existing Java libraries force Clojure developers to deal with the Java world of static compilation, command-line JAR execution, and configuration via XML. This serves as a major impediment to the kind of interactive and simple experience we expect with Clojure systems.</i><p>What is the benefit of using Clojure (as opposed to another Lisp) if the language's main USP, i.e. access to Java libraries, is turning out to be a problem? This is not a rhetorical question.