Responding to Nowak - Adam

What is poetry? The Oxford English Dictionary defines poetry as a composition in verse or some comparable patterned arrangement of language in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm. After reading Nowak’s Coal Mountain Elementary I was not sure how to categorize it. Poetry expresses a certain state of mind, which in my opinion that the reader is able to capture in Nowak’s book. Coal Mountain Elementary has a distinctive style and rhythm making the reader believe it is poetic. The author must be able to allow his/her knowledge flow freely. This allows the mind to be in a thought provoking state, which aids the author to create the most artistic verses. Nowak demonstrates this in Coal Mountain Elementary by creating his own unique style that lets the reader decide if it is poetry, prose, or a new genre. After looking over the text multiple times I was able to come to a conclusion that Coal Mountain Elementary is a genre of its own, but in a poetic sense. I believe this because there is no other text in the world similar to it although it does evoke feelings and has a distinct style. The concept of poetry is difficult to explain, because most readers have a different idea of what makes a work poetry or prose. For example, I looked back at the journals debating whether or not Coal Mountain Elementary and found that the students were evenly split. This illustrates that poetry as a concept can be interpreted in more ways than one, ultimately leaving it up to the reader to decide what it should be classified as. In my opinion, the reader can categorize a work as poetry or not depending on the circumstances, but if he/she can justify the fact it should not be disputed. Poetry is about freedom and setting the mind free from all distractions. Coal Mountain Elementary is a great book to read, if one wants to contemplate the concept of poetry without influence from others. Although Nowak uses ideas associated with poetry, I personally would still classify Coal Mountain Elementary as a genre of its own.