The Underground Sea

‘Berger’s commitment to the mining communities was more than emotional, it was visceral’ - NEW STATESMAN‘A timely collection with still-striking thoughts’ - IRISH TIMES ‘A profound tribute to working-class struggles … The words are invariably sage, the language noble yet pointedly accessible, descriptions of intense poverty and extraordinarily dangerous work are powerful’ - BUZZ MAGAZINE ‘The book’s introduction is rather beautiful. Harle, along with Tom Overton (who has catalogued the British Library’s Berger archive), deftly weave Berger’s admiration for artist Josef Herman with his book on a country doctor immersed in the Forest of Dean community’ - MORNING STAR

John Berger was born in London in 1926. His seminal Ways of Seeing was one of the most influential books on art in the twentieth century. His many books, innovative in form and far-reaching in their historical and political insight, include To the Wedding, King, and the Booker Prize-winning novel, G. He died, aged ninety, in January 2017.

Tom Overton is John Berger’s biographer. He catalogued the Berger archive at the British Library and edited Portraits: John Berger on Artists and Landscapes: John Berger on Art. He lives in Sheffield.

Matthew Harle is a writer and curator. His latest books include Black Arsenal and Mirror Reflecting Darkly. His curating explores the cultural histories of everyday life, most recently in the retrospective People Make Television at Raven Row in 2023.