This past week I focused on the actual creation of my cover letter for a hypothetical, potential job. I decided to “apply” for a “health behavior technician” at Chimes International. While I have no job experience, I have recently expressed an interest in getting one. And the possibility of successfully applying for a job is the Cover Letter.
We also took a look at, and analyzed Open Letters in Letters to a Young Writer by Colum McCann. Out of the three I signed up for, Dark Dogs of the Mind. My “aha” for this week was the power and accessibility of Open Letters. They are a weird, but beautiful mix of letters and poetry. The letter, Dark Dogs of the Mind, dark theme of depression was not “dark.” Instead, it was both comforting and relieving. It put the experience of having depression into both a more comprehensible and explainable way for me. Why did the author feel as though the most effective way to communicate this (depression) was through a letter, and not something else (like a poem or short story for example)? How do Open-Letter authors start an open-letter?
