Emerging Expressions new to Northwest

Two Northwest Missouri State University students are bringing something different to the community this week.

Emerging Expressions takes place Thursday, and according to organizers Korbin Jones and Nick Van Ross, it’s about everything other than music.

“After going to poetry slams all summer long, I started to wonder why we don’t do something like that at Northwest,” Van Ross said. “I felt like we were missing a major opportunity for self-expression.”

Van Ross got in touch with a friend in the English department, Jones, who felt much the same way.

“I have a friend who does competitive slam poetry,” Jones said. “When Nick approached me with the idea, I wasn’t aware of any open mic nights in town.”

So they changed that, and Emerging Expressions was born. Jones said there was one specific limitation to Emerging Expressions.

“You can bring just about anything you want, just no music,” Jones said. “We’re not really equipped to have music, nor are we experienced.

“If this one turns out well, we’ll be open to expanding a bit in the future and having a more musically-focused open mic, but this one is more about the spoken word.”

The spoken word on display at Emerging Expressions will range from slam poetry to short stories. Jones said the event is important because it will highlight diversity in the Northwest community.

“I was shocked that we didn’t have any open mic nights here, or that if they do exist, they’re so sporadic,” Jones said. “We’ve had a lot of interest from many different communities so far, and they need to have their voices heard.”

Pieces with sensitive topics such as abuse, mental disorders, or violence, will need to come with trigger warnings. Jones said it is important for performers to police themselves on their performative choices.

“The big thing is, don’t say anything you wouldn’t want to get your butt kicked over,” Jones said. “You have a right to say what you want, what you feel like you need to say, but others have a similar right not to listen to you.

“Slam poetry gives people (an opportunity) to tell a story in a way they normally would not, so I’m not going to tell people they can’t say certain things. That’s the beauty of art – anyone can say anything, but we aren’t going to promise others aren’t going to judge.”

Jones and Van Ross have reached out to several people to see if they would like to perform, including Maryville community members, majors and professors in the English department at Northwest, and several others.

“We’ve sent information to the English department at Missouri Western State University as well,” Jones said. “We also have some kids coming from [Maryville] High School.

“Hopefully we have a nice mix of Bearcats and others.”

Van Ross, who performs a program of poetry with the Northwest Speaking Bearcats, said there’s something different about the feeling of performing when the poetry is your own.

“When you’re performing someone else’s work, you can spin it your own way,” Van Ross said. “Seeing someone perform their own work, they convey more honest emotion and more emotion in general than someone else could.”

Emerging Expressions takes place this Thursday evening starting at 7 p.m. in the Living Room of the J.W. Jones Student Union. Admission is free, and you do not need to perform to attend.