Dear Mark Nowak,

My name is Nourah, and I am a master degree seeking, English Literature, at Indiana University of Peen. Your book ” Coal Mountain Elementary” is one of the required books at the Postmodernism literature class for this semester.

And I am writing to you as a thank for such a stunning piece that highlights a real issue related to the labor and their rights. Being based on a depressing accident, truth story, make it more powerful to attract my attention, and some of my classmates as well. I like also the usage of all the available tools that includes articles, photographs, and official statements. That was a good idea in documenting the story with all of its belongings.

Nevertheless, such a helping things make me wondering if this can be considered a “pure book”, so that it is your book and you have all the Intellectual rights for it. Or, is it a smart and strong way of claiming your issue as an interested of labors rights?

Regardless of that, I enjoyed reading it as I felt being involved in some places. it was indeed such a touching book, as I believe that writing- in general- has to deeply deal with the society issues. Whether by reminding people of a certain event, or by producing a whole work based on that event.

Sincerely,

Nourah

Well! Frankly, I felt disappointing while I was reading for our class this week. I just read the first three parts, and then I decided to go over the rest without deep concentration.

I started with the first part that is “How To Be An Internet Artist” It is true it gives some guidelines for beginners to start their work, and be considered writers or as he said Artist. But, there is nothing new! Any person wants to publish his work, will do the same.

I struggled strongly with “OK Texts” because it is really difficult to know what is the purpose of it! I mean what is the connection between these questions and poetry! I don’t know! For instance,

Technological determinism will cause you great pain. Continue?

OK

Your health will one day disappear and you will die without

meaning. End session?

OK

It is about technology, which is one of the themes in Postmodernism, but it looks like questions and OK answers and nothing else.

The third part that is “This Could Be The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life”, is the most funny and contrary part. Regardless of the tittle that alludes; in somehow, of being prepared after the first two chapters, for writing. Thus, the writer has just considered himself a writer for the first time in his life. However, there is an obvious contradiction or hesitation in some places. For example, “First I had to go meet my agent who wasn’t really my agent anymore but, rather, my gallery director. Well, not exactly my gallery director either.”

Another example, “I improvisationally stole some of his ideas which weren’t really his ideas at all but something Robert

Motherwell” And so forth!

Really, it is the most challenging reading that we have done till now. I whish if I could meet the writer and ask him, What are you doing? What do are trying to say?

At this respond, I tried to imitate Rankine’s style and major theme. I used the daily English; nevertheless, I avoided the pronoun You. My theme is racism, as hers.

Writing dairies is my favorite! As a black person, all what has been recorded in my mind is how people dealing with me!

Being a black man, and having a taxi is my story that I want to tell or/ and write.

We were three cars, and all of us were taxies, I was the only black one. As you know, we have the policy that we stop in order, and the costumer should go with the first taxi in place.

She was a foreigner, and looking for a cab. She walked in, and became closer to my car.

Suddenly, she escaped me, and went to the second cab! I opened the window and was looking to her and showing that I am the first here! I was thinking she did not how it works because she is a foreigner.

The other driver did so, and told her ” Miss we are in order. You should go to the first cap”. She replayed: ” I don’t want to go with the black driver!”

My colleague stopped closely saying ” I am sorry! She wanted a white driver. She think it is safer”.

I am, in a cool smile, and looking for them both, Good Luck!

Generally, through out reading Rankine’s book, I have notice that she upsides down everything that I have known about Standard- Academic writing. First of all, the usage of such a direct, English- spoken vocabulary, is like a basic in her writings. It is true that makes it easier to read, but it lost the fantasy language that I still believe that any literary work should based on. Second, she kept using the pronoun “You” in almost all her passages. That such a good idea, which pushes the reader to be involve in the passage itself by attracting her/his attention to be the addressee.

I choose one of the passages for a closely reading. That is passage III.

What attracted my attention- as I mentioned above- is the simple language and the You pronoun. There is obviously a connection between the two points that is ignoring any feature of the Academic writing, which the unique words and avoiding especially the pronoun You is a major point in.

I am not sure whether it is a poem, a passage, or a recorded speech! That is due to its style since I was not able to find any literary elements! There is no rhyme, plot, characters, structure, conflict, genre. What we have is only a kind of setting that is ” a distant neighborhood in Santa Monica “, and nothing else. It looks like a narrative story that the writer telling us about a bothering situation related to race and racism.

Talking about the racism, it is clearly the whole section is about it. So that, reading one passage can symbolize the rest of it. Also, from the first sight, you can figure out that is about racism issue via the picture the writer used.