Art is a form of expression, and when people come together and express themselves, it’s a priceless thing.

Marybeth McCauley, English professor and Absolute faculty adviser, said the Absolute literary journal published by OCCC, gives students a way to get their work included in something that’s bigger than themselves.

The Absolute started at OCCC in 1972 and lets people from all over the community show off their talents and abilities.

Absolute Live will give voice to poems, essays and stories from the journals. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20, in the Bruce Owen Theater. McCauley said the night will be filled with various forms of art.

“Students from the music department and the theater department go through the editions of Absolute … The students who are chosen to be in the performance pick pieces and perform them.

“They might do dramatic readings of stories. Some of the music students might put something to music, so it’s a real collaboration of the arts,” she said.

This is the second year to host Absolute Live, and McCauley anticipates the event to be a huge success because of the response last year.

An edition of the Absolute is published each year, and the deadline for Absolute 2015 submissions is Dec. 1, 2014.

McCauley said students, faculty, staff, and other people can submit non-fiction or essays, short stories, poetry, artwork and photography.

“We accept multiple submissions so people are encouraged to submit multiple genres, multiple pieces,” McCauley said.

It benefits them in more than one way.

“It’s good for them to share their talents with an audience. There’s a great sense of accomplishment in being published, and also, everybody else gets to benefit from the artistic endeavors of people on the campus and in the community,” she said.

Unlike other publications, all submissions are chosen by student editors.

“I’m the faculty editor and adviser and I have a board of student editors who read all the submissions and score them. We hold meetings and they compare scores. The student editors decide what’s published each year,” she said.

Submission forms can be found at www.occc.edu/english-humanities/absolute-submissions.html.

Previous editions of the Absolute can be purchased for $5 in the OCCC Bookstore. PDF versions are also available online at www.occc.edu/english-humanities/absolute.html. For more information, contact McCauley at 405-682-7405.