Responding to Nowak - Kiera

Coal Mountain Elementary is a collection of different forms of art. It is constructed of a lesson plan developed by the American Coal Foundation for the Coal Mountain students, translated articles from Chinese newspapers, and transcripts from the 2006 Sago, West Virginia coal mining accident. Could anyone call this poetry? Mark Nowak, the author of Coal Mountain Elementary, does not even know. This explains simply, yet perfectly how beautiful and abstract poetry can be. Stanzas and rhyming words may create a traditional poem, however they all don’t have to be written in this format. There is no definition to poetry, therefore the organization and literary elements of Coal Mountain Elementary could be considered poetry in itself. On the contrary, Nowak’s work may be seen as a masterwork, however not a something that expresses feeling about an idea. This leaves us pondering the difference between poetry and prose.



Mark Nowak’s book brings about much discussion and debate. But, this could have been his potential purpose of Coal Mountain Elementary. People can argue that the real encounters are explanations of coal mining accidents, and that the pictures are just demonstrations of coal labor. However, we don’t know if Nowak’s idea was this straight forward. The story of the miners in West Virginia and in China could be looked at in an artistic form. Art can be presented in various forms and is open to interpretation, making this not just a book, but a book of poetry. Poetry is meant to raise questions among the readers, and in Coal Mountain Elementary we wonder why there is a lesson plan about coal flowers, why a transcript follows it, and then why a photo of a Chinese miner comes before all of that information. When analyzing the book this way it is as if a story was created by the four different elements. In this case structure meant everything, and in fact created an emotional message. Nowak wants to get across that new procedures need to take place in order for all the coal mining accidents to cease worldwide. Either way people can argue that Coal Mountain Elementary is a poem in an unfamiliar, yet unique form.



From a different standpoint, Coal Mountain Elementary can be looked at as a collection of works that come together to create an objective, but is not poetry.

Nowak developed prose that educates the readers about coal mining, and the various occasions that fatal and detrimental accidents have occurred. It is a collection of emotions of other people, and he himself did not actually write Coal Mountain. It could be seen as more of a research source that gives factual information from different coal mining perspectives. Everything in the book has a feeling behind it, but it could be considered outside the realm of poetry due to all the facts.



It is definitely debatable whether Coal Mountain Elementary is an element of poetry. On either end there is evidence that poetry exists among Nowak’s work, and that it’s simply sources bound together to make a point. Either way, Nowak is trying to show the dangerous coal mining industry, and whether he does it in a poetic way or not, he gets his idea across. In the newspaper articles, from the transcripts, and by looking at the pictures emotion and feeling are present. Isn’t poetry an expression in many forms? The answer to this question truly depends on the reader. Everything has more than one interpretation, and that is exactly why this “book” brings up such a discussion. There are a variety of opinions, and that is what makes art and literature so unique, a piece of work could potentially mean anything you want it too.

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.

Responding to Nowak - Jim

Coal Mountain Elementary is a book written by Nowak on the plight of coal miners living in the United States and China. However, the meaning of the book is shrouded in mystery. What is the purpose of the book? What message does Nowak wish to convey upon his readers? What is the book supposed to be visualized as? These are all questions which are sparked in the minds of the readers as they attempt to interpret Nowak’s book. However, the aspect of Nowak’s book which I will focus on is the importance of literary structure and presentation of elements that the author uses in order to elicit the proper emotional response from the reader.

The format of Coal Mountain Elementary is written in such a way as it is composed of many short stories which encompass one idea, the dangers of coal mining. Each short story is either a newspaper clipping or an eyewitness account. These are written in prose format. Some people like to speculate that Coal Mountain Elementary is a work of poetry, as an artistic masterpiece which brings together many different perspectives to tell one overarching story. However, not every work of art is poetry, and it seems to represent more of a collage rather than a poem. Nowak brings together many stories of miners in peril and supports them with relevant photographs of mining towns. He also includes a set of discussion questions given to an elementary school class to complete. These questions play a critical role in the development of Nowak’s main point. They are dispersed periodically throughout the book, in-between the stories. The reader is switched between two different points of view, between the innocent bliss of the young school children to the harsh reality of the mining communities. The questions seem to gnaw at the reader’s conscience, as they realize that neither they nor the children had any idea what was really going on in the coal mines. Nowak’s method of steadily making the questions less carefree and more serious is seen as they transition from being instructions on how to make coal flowers to research questions on the relationship between coal miners and their employers. The one question that really clicked as Nowak’s main point and the ultimate epiphany of the reader is on page 87, when the question asks, “What do you think are some of the costs associated with mining coal?” The school children will most likely calculate the profits and margins of the coal companies, along with the time put into mining the coal and the costs of transporting it throughout the nation. However, they will miss the most important cost of all: human life. Among the tales of death and destruction of people mining coal in order to keep society functioning is this one question which totally reveals Nowak’s main point, which is that coal miners absolutely must be appreciated. They are in harm’s way every second of their jobs, and they give their lives so that the rest of society can enjoy luxuries such as electricity and locomotives. People should be aware of the risks people take to provide the bare necessities of modern society, and they should fight against the oppression of the coal companies which is present not just in the United States and China, but all over the world. The way that Nowak introduced his main point was crucial in the eliciting of a strong emotional response from the reader. This supports the concept that the structure and method of presenting a thesis is just as important as the thesis itself.