The Underground Sea

The Underground Sea is a collection of John Berger's writing on mineworkers and miners strikes, edited as a set of actions for today. It marks the 40th Anniversary of the 1984-5 Strike and places itself in a Derbyshire mining village, with reflections on the everyday life of a typical pit community. Berger grapples with the politics of witness and goes back to Zola's novel for hope of a new world germinating underneath the ground.

Format: Hardback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 29 February 2024
Publisher: Canongate Books

The Underground Sea is a concise and urgent compilation of writing from John Berger's archive, bringing together his work on mineworkers and miners' strikes for the first time. Edited as a set of actions for today, its publication marks the 40th Anniversary of the 1984-5 Strike, a time when people are rediscovering the necessity, power, and possibilities of collective action.

The book includes transcripts and an image-essay of Berger's rarely-seen BBC programme, Germinal, as well as interviews and his essay "Miners." It immerses readers in the heart of a Derbyshire mining village, offering reflections on the everyday life of a typical pit community.

Berger delves into the politics of witness as he studies the miners' labor and the wider community shaped in service to this work. Reflecting on their precarity, he turns to Zola's novel for hope that a new world is germinating underneath the ground, ready to crack open the earth when it arrives.

The Underground Sea is a powerful and thought-provoking collection that sheds light on the ongoing struggles of miners and their communities, while also offering a glimpse of hope for a better future.

Weight: 252g
Dimension: 143 x 221 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781805302995
Edition number: Main