Responding to Nowak - Miles

When beginning Coal Mountain Elementary by Mark Nowak, it is clear before the story even begins that the paperback is unlike your average book of pages, words, and chapters. When flipping through Coal Mountain, one catches flashes of colored pictures and random italic writings. Further intriguing his readers, Nowak dedicates the book to “everyone mining beneath our feet, across the globe, this morning and tomorrow.” I don’t know about you, but when I read that, I actually thought about what was under my feet. Lucky for me, rather then miners risking their lives to extract coal from deep into the earth, the only thing under me is a couple floors of loud college kids.

Less then five pages into the book Nowak presents the first picture. Ian Teh, the photographer used throughout the book, uses a variety of effects in his photographs. Some are crystal clear shouting meaning; others are blurry and more interpretive. Upon researching more on Ian Teh, I found that he is a world-renowned photographer whose work has been used in Time Magazine, CNN, Newsweek, and various other publications. Upon looking at some of Teh’s other works, it is clear that he likes to magnify the grunge of live. Many of his photos have recurring themes, similar to those in Coal Mountain. He photographs on dark days. When inside he very rarely uses much light, smoke is commonly seen, and the people in his photos are usually straight faced.

Italics are another recurring theme in the book. Most if not all poems are done in italics. Many people approach a book of poems with much apprehension. Through experience I personally have been taught to expect a tedious read; Nowak’s strategy is however far different. Nowak relys on the experiences of the miners to form poetic segments of story. Each piece of writing, short or long, proves to be a strong and insightful journey into the minds of the miners. The writings exploit emotion and a strong sense of empathy in the heart of the reader.
Coal Mountain Elementary was a fun read and remains one of my favorite poetry sources. Mark Nowak uses a keen sense of organization to collage pieces of story together to form an amazing mural of learning and journey.