A Place to Stand

Admittedly, I could have Baca all wrong... I was intrigued enough by the documentary A Place to Stand to get the book, read it and re-watch the doc. While Baca had little to live for when he entered Arizona State Prison, the modern fairy tale of his unearthed new center ("the quiet strength of poetry") feels a bit too much like a self-serving portrayal. His published success and acclaim and prison background makes for a memoir worth reading, but I expected more revelations of character defects - revealed and triumphed. Mentor Bonafide comes across as darker and more dangerous and may be closer to what Baca is really, for all I know. Also, a plastic prison-made blowgun dart that passes through a human torso strains credulity and show more emphasized the lingering doubts I have that much of this may be smoke and mirrors. Also, this could be a reflection of my inability to appreciate the sentimental metaphor of his free verse. show less

A testament to how writing and literature can transform lives. Baca's grim memoir of a tragic childhood, some bad (although perhaps understandable) choices during his troubled youth, and his five-year stretch in a horrendous prison is both grueling and riveting. While it is true his prose isn't up to the standard of his poetry, the power behind his redemption through writing and literature more than makes up for it. This is not for the faint-hearted, for the violence is graphic and brutal, and Baca doesn't look away from the awful facts of prison life. This is not a book of easy morality, and I was left ambiguous both about some of Baca's decisions, and some of his attitudes. However, what is clear is that it's a miracle anyone could show more have survived much of what Baca experienced, let alone go on to be an award-winning poet and an inspiration for others to transform their lives as well. The book may be flawed, as the man may be (aren't we all?), but its value lies in the witness it bears to a man's ability to overcome rejection, abuse, addiction, violence, cruelty, heartbreak, despair and himself, to be worthwhile and useful in the world. show less

Empowerment... what can work for people, how do people find it, or how does it find people? Somehow, Baca... well, of course, it is never a strict binary. But to find one's humanity, one's rootedness on earth and through tradition and history and culture... What matters isn't fancy cars. There is no formula here, but a story. We need these stories.

A memoir of a Chicano boy of an alcoholic father, abandoned by his mother to his grandparents. Then at 5 or 6 his grandfather died. He spent the next 20 years in institutions, except for brief forays of trying to make it on his own. It was a life of abandonment, violence, and drugs capped by five years in maximum security prison. The story is actually about how he kept hold of himself through it all and his salvation in poetry. For the past 30 years he has been a successful poet and author. The story is well told and engaging.

The prose felt a bit forced at times, other than that this was a compelling read and served to further my passion for adult education and literacy in particular.

Lent to me by Jane Reed. This is an amazing book about Baca's transformation from drug dealer to poet.

A very intense book that depicts the life of a young man's destructive past and the events that came of it.