Place 10: Writing as a Necessity

What struck me most about Jimmy Santiago Baca’s work was the fact that for him writing was not just an interest but a necessity. I began to write as a teenager because I felt like expressing my thoughts on paper and wished to one day become an author. Baca, though, chose to write because it made him feel good about himself and provided a form of therapy while living in prison where he received anything but help. In his memoir, A Place to Stand, on page 5, he wrote, “Language gave me a way to keep the chaos of prison at bay and prevent it from devouring me; it was a resource that allowed me to confront and understand my past….” This sentence sums up his attitude toward writing and he continues to describe how learning to read poetry helped him survive prison and maintain some form of saneness in a violent, unforgiving atmosphere.

As I continued to read his other work, I noticed that his writing feels very therapeutic, particularly in Martín & Meditations on the South Valley. Published in 1987, I believe this epic semi-autobiography was Baca’s first book, which doesn’t surprise me. For someone who experienced trauma in his personal life throughout childhood and into adulthood, I was not surprised to read about his memories. Throughout the excerpt Sheryl provided from Martín & Meditations, Baca addressed various issues that affected him deeply: being abandoned as a young child by his mother; watching his mother trying to pass as white; coming to terms with his cultural identity; and struggling to make a life for himself. His cultural identity, I would argue, was the issue that affected him most. Throughout his epic poem, he continually referenced race:

--Page 16: “I was caught in the middle--/between white skinned, English speaking altar boy/at the communion railing,/ and brown skinned, Spanish speaking plains nomadic child…”
--Page 17: “Caught between Indio-Mejicano rural uncles…”
--Page 22: “You were the most beautiful girl in the pueblo,/good nature, smiling, green eyed and white skinned.”
--Page 26: “…her husband/fired four shots/ into her beautiful face,/because he felt she was going to leave him,/because she would no longer/live in his make-believe world.”
--Page 27: “A long time ago/he thought he had saved you,/from your own culture, your own language…”

His next book of poetry, Black Mesa Poems, seemed less therapeutic. Although he still referenced his roots and race, his writing is less about his personal life and instead touches upon broader topics such as his surroundings and other people.

Now that I have read some of his poetry, memoir as well as his latest novel, A Glass of Water, I sense that Baca has accepted his cultural identity. He doesn’t shy away from writing about injustice, discrimination or culture. This week, I will interview Baca for another class with a fellow student. I expect, and hope, that he will tell me more about how his culture has influenced his writing and the topics he chooses to write about. I wonder if he feels if his writing has become less personal and more about the craft he has practiced since leaving prison. Something to think about, I guess.