Jimmy Santiago Baca

[cosmicautumn.livejournal.com]

I recently heard Jimmy Santiago Baca speak, a great poet who is deeply involved in social activism. He astounds me with his sincerity and closeness to his subjects. While he was in prison, he wrote a poem for a fellow inmate for his mother. The other inmate, who was black, couldn't believe that Baca, a Chicano, was able to say what was in his heart. I recommend reading any of his poetry and his autobiography, A Place to Stand. All of his books should be required reading for future political poets. Behind the cut is one of his poems that he read. It's long, but it's worth reading.

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