Prison to Poet

This last week I had the opportunity to talk with Jimmy Santiago Baca.

Wow. Can you say 'inspirational story'???

Born in New Mexico of Chicano and Apache descent, Jimmy was raised first by his grandmother and was later sent to an orphanage.  A runaway at age thirteen, it was after Baca was sentenced to five years in a maximum security prison at the age of twenty-one that he began to turn his life around: there he learned to read and write.

He is the winner of the Pushcart Prize, the American Book Award, the National Poetry Award, the International Hispanic Heritage Award, and, for his memoir A Place to Stand, the prestigious International Award.

It's been almost a week since I talked with Mr. Baca.  His story...his words...are still fresh in my mind.

Of his time in the orphanage...

"I used to get beat and beat and beat. I used to get beat so bad that my legs were blue and my back was black. I told 'em...you're gonna beat me so bad I'm gonna stay black and I'll just say I'm from Africa." 

"At the orphanage there was one colored kid and I remember running to him...Alan! Alan! Alan! Hey I'm gonna be like you!...and I pulled down my pants to show him my butt.  Alan said...you can't be beat black you've gotta be born black. I was so sad. I thought..you mean I gotta be in my body...this is what I have to look forward too? I can't change? I wanted to change...into a woman...a butterfly or a black person."

Jimmy wanted to learn to read and write so he could write a letter to his grandmother to tell her he was sorry for disappointing her. 

Jimmy devotes his post-prison life to writing and teaching others who are overcoming hardship. His themes include American Southwest barrios, addiction, injustice, education, community, love and beyond. He has conducted hundreds of writing workshops in prisons, community centers, libraries, and universities throughout the country. 

I encourage you to visit his website http://www.jimmysantiagobaca.com/

Mr. Baca was in Bend, Thursday, November 4th, to give a presentation as part of The Nature of Words with COCC campus partners: Multicultural Center, Native American Program, Latino Student Program and the Nancy R. Chandler Visiting Scholar Program. Thank you to Karen Aylward for making this interview possible.