Jimmy Santiago Baca has a mythical quality about him that is unparalleled in my experience. As a veteran educator, school administrator, and fellow of the National Writing Project, I’ve been in the company of and listened to many poets and writers during my career. Over the last two years, I’ve had the pleasure of observing Mr. Baca in a variety of settings, and it has been nothing short of magical.
A colleague of mine first introduced me to Baca’s memoir A Place to Stand in 2005, and since that time I have read nearly all of his works. I unabashedly admit that I am a fan. In November of 2008 in San Antonio, Texas he dazzled a packed ballroom of teachers from around the country during the National Council of Teachers of English convention. At the end of his talk, I asked him if he would consider coming to my large, urban school district, and he quickly agreed. I had no idea if I could find the funding, but I was committed to making it happen.
When I returned to Pennsylvania, I managed to secure funding from two sources and he visited with us in April of 2009. That year he focused his attention on our high school students, including those in our alternative education school. I will never forget how deftly he managed to draw our students into his magic circle. In the quiet of the library students read pieces about passing through multiple foster homes and losing parents and siblings to violence. One young man said he had no poetry or prose to share, but he belted out an acapella song that graced everyone in the room. In the evening, Baca spoke to teachers from our region. He lured many dark memories into the light using his well-spun stories. When we parted that night, I asked him if he’d be willing to return in 2009 to work with our middle school students.
And so, in November of 2009, Jimmy Santiago Baca returned to us. This time he spoke to hundreds and hundreds of students in auditoriums and gymnasiums because I wanted as many of our young people as possible to hear his life story and his words. As I watched from the periphery, I was mesmerized by his ability to read his audience and make a large venue seem like an intimate chat. This year a young lady who had been bullied by her peers at the start of the year offered to sing to him. I still get the chills when I remember how courageous she was to stand in front of hundreds of those same peers, this time greeted with thundering applause rather than ridicule.
In March of this year, Mr. Baca invited me to join him at Fairleigh Dickinson University where he spoke to a standing room only crowd of students and faculty.In true Baca form, he was generous and witty and kind. I’ll never forget a diminutive young woman with flawless skin who approached him in her wheelchair at the end of his book signing, just as the line began to dwindle. She asked him about how she might allow herself to be more vulnerable in her writing. He leaned toward her and told her to come in close and tight so he could speak with her. At that moment, everything else in the room dissolved and, once again, I witnessed the sweet sound of Jimmy Santiago Baca.
Denise VanBriggle, Coordinator of Writing and Secondary Literacy
Harrisburg City School District, Harrisburg, PA 17110
Stories from the Edge, and its companion teacher's guide, Adolescents on the Edge, extend Jimmy's efforts with Cedar Tree, Inc. Cedar Tree Inc. is a nonprofit foundation that seeks to transform lives through reading and writing. They conduct literary workshops in prisons, detention
