Title: Mining Town Memories
Author: Billy Ray Bibb
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-5462-7702-6
Pages: 108
Genre: Poetry
Reviewed by: Tara Mcnabb
Pacific Book Review
Mining Town Memories is an evocative collection of poems that reveal the joys and struggles of growing up in a poor mining town.
Most people have never heard of Minden, West Virginia. A small mining town, it has a long and significant history in the coal industry dating back to the 1800s. But for the author, Minden is more than that; it’s where his family chose to settle, where he grew up as a boy, and a place filled with memories, both good and bad. In this collection of poems, the author has deliberately and thoughtfully woven a story that shines a light on his collective ancestry. Although mining coal may seem like a miserable job to many, it’s clearly a symbol of pride and courage to the author, and this is made clear in his many references to the ‘spirit’ and ‘soul’ of the miner. Knowing that the author’s father worked in the Minden mine for twenty-five years makes the poems all the more poignant.
Each individual poem has a unique title, ranging from “A Miner’s Prayer”, “Children of the Mine”, and “The Young Miner”, to name a few. One of the more moving poems is perhaps “A Tribute to the Miner”, and asks the reader to imagine themselves in the place of a miner: “Put yourself in the place of a miner, who left his wife and children today, to work way down the mine for little pay.” While many of the poems paint a bleak picture of life in the mines, others are not so grim. One poem called “Berry-Picking Time” is a cheerful recollection of blackberry picking as a child in the summertime with his friends after school. Descriptions of his mother turning the berries into homemade jams and jellies is heartwarming, the kind of nostalgia that you’d expect from a smalltown childhood.
Poetry is still underrated as a means of communicating heavy themes and ideas. But as this collection shows, poetry can be a powerful tool of reflection and recognition. The prose seems to flow naturally, with some rhyming thrown in occasionally when it’s appropriate. And because the poems are fairly short, this results in an enjoyable read that feels affecting without being overwhelming or too long. The author’s word choices are refreshingly simple, making it easy for readers to follow along and understand the particular context.
The legacy of miners is reverently upheld, and it’s a fascinating premise for examining a family’s struggle to put down roots in a small West Virginia town.
