The Question of the Concept of Poetry in Coal Mountain Elementary - Joe

Coal Mountain Elementary is a gruesome revelation of the coal mining industries of the world. As seen in the United States, specifically Sago, West Virginia, there are cases of frequent disaster within the mines. It would seem, judging by the articles and personal accounts Mark Nowak provides, mining disasters are even more frequent in China. No doubt this is much of the same for the rest of the world as well. Nowak has explained himself to be a staunch advocate of the awareness needed for these incidents. He claims to be shaken most by this type of tragedy and uses his own unique methods to expose others to the same striking stories. However, much is to be pondered when considering typifying Nowak’s work. Does it continue his poetry legacy?

For one, in the argument against it falling in suit with the concept of poetry has to do with content. Most of the included information and dialogue is written in prose form. Not only that, but the material is not original. The pieces are not uniquely imagined forms of reflection. Rather, Nowak compiles personal accounts, articles, and even lab procedures to convey his meaning. All of these supporting documents are cold hard facts. They tell a story, giving general background information. Nowhere in any of the accounts or news stories is there evidence of flowery descriptions or aesthetics or well-picked adjectives coloring the scene.

The description of poetry can be defined informally as a way a person expresses their emotions through an outpouring of text. It is legitimately an art form of writing. The argument for Coal Mountain Elementary being a poem is that it incorporates different text in an unusual way. It is Nowak’s way of sharing his emotions and feelings about a certain topic through his own version of structure. The piecemeal corroboration of text could possibly have meaning. Throughout the book Nowak incorporates lab instructions, images, Sago reports, personal accounts from China, etc. Each of these follows more or less of a cycle. Besides the emotion aspect, the structure may also be an area that could be an argument for poetry. They are aligned in a certain way to either hammer home a certain idea, or provide ironic stark contrast to see the extreme horrors hidden from most. Either way, Nowak uses the structure to his advantage, but in a very unusual method.

Mark Nowak is an established poet, an experienced literary scholar. This could be an argument for why the piece is poetry, as Nowak would tend to write in similar form as he has in the past. However, Nowak has voiced his opinion that he does not know definitively whether this particular item is in fact poetry. This could be an argument against. If someone as experienced as he cannot categorize his work as similar to his past work, then it must surely be different.

Coal Mountain Elementary is not poetry. There are elements that are shared with poetry included, such as emotional outpouring and structural differences. However, any piece of literature may include an emotional basis, and many do not adhere to a strict writing code. The evidence of factual information, prose-reporting writing style, and borrowed texts makes it more of a compilation of information than poetry.

It is true the lines around poetry are blurred. It is a personal decision, one’s own interpretation. Poetry is indeed an art form, one that mixes rhyme or meter for example. However, poetry does not canvas everything that is outside the lines or different in some regards.