Coal

With a Foreword by Tony Benn.

Coal has been one of the dominant forces in British society. Its presence has resulted in the building of villages, towns and docks, roads, railways and canals. It fuelled the Industrial Revolution, powered the navies, Merchant and Royal, of the British Empire, and made the fortunes of the colliery owners and their investors. Coal also provided jobs; at its height the industry employed three quarters of a million colliers alone.

These men and their leaders were at the forefront of trade unionism, often as a result of oppression and adversity. Their communities, unified by coal, were marked by their solidarity and radicalism. For the first time the literature of mining has been gathered together in a book which celebrates the industry while it still exists.

Contributors include miners themselves and writers moved or inspired by the industry. The writing reflects the good times and the bad, the working conditions, living conditions, and aspirations of a people with an indomitable spirit. It charts also a changing, and ultimately, declining industry.

Tony Curtis is Professor of Poetry at the University of Glamorgan where he directs an MPhil in Writing. He has published 26 books, including nine poetry collections, most recently Heaven's Gate (2001). A selection of his poetry has recently been translated and published in Armenia. He is also the editor of several anthologies including After the First Death, a volume of war writing (2007).