Nowak's book is one of the cornerstone examples of the now exploding trend, it seems, of found text collage being implemented as poetics, particularly with a political or social justice bent. See Rankine's Citizen for the most popular recent example of this form (or any other poetic form, for that matter). Nowak's work here shines a light on mining culture and how it affects family and community, his use of other voices at the total exclusion of his own is a poignant move that drives empathy with his subject. His arrangement is thoughtful, sometimes unnerving, and I believe sometimes purposefully tedious. This a unique poetic volume on an often ignored subject that has major and lasting affects on our world and the people that live in it. ( )