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I was green and alive as life could be."
Often overshadowed, the mining community is front and center in this narrative-based poetry compilation. Bibb’s portrayal of Minden, Virginia, is rife with nostalgia and uses poetry to shed light on the incessant dangers faced by miners. From his own perspective, mining towns may not have the glitz and glamour of more prominent cities. However, it is undeniable they have traits that are not readily available: grit and a genuine affinity for their neighbors.
Bibb’s poetry is simple, loosely following an AABB rhyme scheme. However, its simplicity is what makes the experiences of his tight-knit community appealing. Forget any notion of a facade to hype up his town. Instead, his compilation gives us the real Minden: cracks in the wall, the heart-wrenching sound of the whistle indicating another tragedy, and the constant fear that a loved one may not return from the mines. Nevertheless, Minden was not powered by things but rather love and faith.
From the outset, Bibb’s poetry tugs at the heartstrings in “A Miner’s Prayer.” The imagery in the prayer, the plea to Mother Earth to keep gracing the miners with love and care, is overwhelming and thought-provoking. Similarly, “Spirit of the Miner” is haunting in its depiction of tragedy’s aftermath; their workplace becomes their grave. The fear that any moment could be their last, however, yields an appreciation for time that many take for granted. Poems like “The Young Miner” reflect the community’s resilience, while others show the speaker cherishing ordinary items like a porcelain coffeepot and a run-down first bike that will inevitably endear readers to Minden. An ode to a mining town ultimately proves to be an awakening for people to embrace the spirit of life in its purest form: love and faith.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review