In 1958, the Springhill mine in Nova Scotia collapsed, burying 175 miners. Over the next month, seventy-five were rescued. Ewan MacColl wrote “Springhill Mine Disaster” in 1960. It concludes: Through all their lives they dug a grave. I am a child of the American midcentury and have prospered under the American right to freedom of expression. Throughout my life I’ve been writing my obituary. Or perhaps my autobiography. God Bless America.
