Author Jeff Biggers was born in the coal country of Southern Illinois. But he spent most of his young life as a globe-trotting writer, leaving behind the little hamlet where his family’s roots go back two centuries. When he finally did return, he found that the place completely transformed. That was thanks to the coal companies who, for better or worse, had been the region’s dominant force for generations. Biggers documents these changes in his new book: Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland. He spoke recently with WBEZ’s Gabriel Spitzer, and talked about what it was like to come back home. Jeff Biggers is in Chicago this weekend for his play: Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal, presented by the Coal Free Future Project.

On Stage:
Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal
Tonight at 8; Tomorrow at 2 p.m.
Columbia College

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Music Button:  Jack Rose, “Moon In The Guitar”, from the CD Luck in the Valley, (Thrill Jockey)