Through lots of hard work, Nixa High School’s very own Poetry Club was able to host an open mic night for students to perform their poetry in a safe and comfortable environment. The night took place on Oct. 26 and was hosted in the black box theater. While the event seemed to just be an open speech night to outsiders, Poetry Club founder Hannah Kasper said she believed that there was a bigger picture behind the occasion.
“When I started the club, a big thing on my heart was to have a place for the community, as well as poets who just want to be able to express themselves to have a close-knit group of people that they feel safe presenting to,” Kasper said. “And so part of that was building us up as writers and as people, then also putting that out into the community. Open mic night for me was one of the big goals that I wanted when I started [Poetry Club], and so it’s really just showing how far we’ve come as a group.”
While open mic night is most commonly held to allow the student body to present their written pieces, Kasper said she feels that there are more benefits than just sharing.
“I think it can help with getting outside of just our small group, and being able to be comfortable standing in front of people, and talking in front of people,” Kasper said. “[It can also help with] sharing yourself around more people and with presenting skills as well as the confidence.”
Junior Veven (Vivian) Bashar was one of the poets who read her pieces aloud. “I think it’s a way to be vulnerable without getting screwed over,” Bashar said. “You’re in a place sharing and writing it with a bunch of other people in the same situation who feel the exact same way. So I feel like it’s a safer place to express my emotions without having the fear of getting any backlash.”
The Poetry Club was open to all students of NHS. Students who are interested in writing and/or sharing their feelings are welcome to join the Poetry Club.
“I encourage people to join Poetry Club. Even if they don’t write poetry, we do short stories too. I think it’s a good way to mingle because I wouldn’t have met these people,” Bashar said. “I just think it’s a way to connect with like-minded people. … And if you’re wanting an outlet, this is a good way. And it’s nice because you can put that outlet into a poem and then share it, and then if you want to go into context you can. It’s just up to you. It’s like whatever you want to happen happens, and I think that’s just really nice.”
