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Jimmy Santiago Baca

Jimmy Santiago Baca Books

Poet

A Place to Stand

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“People say what distinguishes us from the animals is that we think. Well, then why the hell don't we extend some compassion to those under tremendous duress? There's this whole idea that you work really hard so you can deaden your soul to the universe and enjoy yourself only in ways the Sierra Club will let you. But what about enjoying yourself by getting into the whole melee of poverty and racism and violence and murder and drug addiction? Get in there, roll up your sleeves, and do something! Nobody does it.”

PeopleThinkingWayWellsDoeIdeasSoulHardWholeUniverseEnjoyAnimalCompassionPovertyHellViolenceDrugRacismMurderAddictionClubsYour SoulSleevesDrug AddictionDrug AddictSierraEnjoy YourselfDuress
Author:Jimmy Santiago Baca
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“I do know that if you can name certain things and understand them, it allows you to make better choices. Unfortunately, there's so much misinformation that towers over a person's head, it's really difficult to make the right decisions. Consequently, we just go along because it's way too hard to sift through the information.”

IfsKnowsWayPersonsHardCertainChoicesNamesDifficultDecisionInformationTowersMisinformationRight DecisionMake The Right Decision
Author:Jimmy Santiago Baca
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“One thing America truly does stand for is a million different ways of living. But while we enjoy the lives we have, we're so privileged. We live in a world that's so far from what the Palestinian children are going through, it's unbelievable. Yet if we dare to get close to that atrocity and name it, it would shock us so badly we couldn't live in our privileged comfort zone.”

IfsWorldWayChildrenDoeDifferentAmericaNamesEnjoyMillionsOne ThingComfortDareDifferent WaysShockZonePalestinianPrivilegedComfort ZoneUnbelievableAtrocities
Author:Jimmy Santiago Baca
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“The whole thing is this: If you don't use just basic grammar, if you don't get the language down, you're not going to have access to a tool that people use as a weapon against you. The only reason I was never taught to read and write was because it was easier for them to lead me. But the second I learned to read and write, I began to lead myself.”

PeopleIfsInspirationalWritingReasonWholeUseReadingLanguageLearningTaughtEasierWeaponsToolsAccessLiteracyGrammarLeading Me
Author:Jimmy Santiago Baca
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“We're all self-destructive when we're young. We all rebel. If we don't, there's something wrong. But when a Chicano kid's in a rebellious state, he has nowhere to go but to put himself in jeopardy with the police. When a kid who has some class privilege rebels, he's in a beautiful room and he can buy these horrible CDs and drugs. He's buffered from being a criminal.”

IfsSelfStatesKidsBeautifulYoungRoomsClassDrugPolicePrivilegeCriminalsHorribleDestructiveRebelRebelliousCdsSelf DestructiveJeopardyNowhere To GoClass Privilege
Author:Jimmy Santiago Baca
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“I culled poetry from odors, sounds, faces, and ordinary events occurring around me. Breezes bulged me as if I were cloth; sounds nicked their marks on my nerves; objects made impressions on my sight as if in clay. There, in the soft language, life centered and ground itself in me and I was flowing with the grain of the universe. Language placed my life experiences in a new context, freeing me for the moment to become with air as air, with clouds as clouds, from which new associations arose to engage me in present life in a more purposeful way.”

IfsWayMadeMomentsFacesUniverseLanguageSoundAirEventsObjectsOrdinarySightMarkCloudsImpressionNervesAssociationLife ExperienceGrainBreezeClayOdorPresent Life
Author:Jimmy Santiago Baca
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“I sat back in my wooden chair as they signed the paperwork and stared down at the arm rests, studying the various layers of paint, the chips and cracks. How many hands had gripped them? I wondered. What lives were attached to those hands, what dreams were shattered, what sorrows were they trying to squeeze out of their souls?”

TryingSoulDreamHandsStudyArmsSorrowPaintVariousSatChairsCracksLayersChipsShatteredPaperworkMany Hands
Book:A Place to Stand
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