Customer Reviews

Martin and Meditations on the South Valley

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Jimmy Santiago Baca writes of experiences that most people will never have, except through the reading of this epic poem...many may think that they have a 'hard' life, but to read the author's story is to have but a glimpse of the beauty and pain that he has lived, and survived, and become stronger from...his story is one that is lived by many, but written of by so few...I hope that you read this book and achieve the insight and understanding of his true heroism, in the face of unbelievable odds, that would surely break all of us who never lived on the streets ,or who never had to learn of the power of the written word while in prison....he has returned from the ashes to tell a story of rebirth through true poetry, of survival not imagined, but lived....I work with young adults every day that must overcome the obstacles that Jimmy Santiago Baca has survived...and I hope that the reader learns from what he has written...poetry has the power to heal, and this book won a national award because it is truely special and unique, as is the author...thank you...

"Martin and Meditations on the South Valley" provide the clearest voice for the dispossessed gente--la raza--of Aztlan. JSB is the greatest living writer among Chicanos simply because he captures the anger, the despair and the violence that oppression breeds among Chicanos. His brilliance is that he simultaneously captures the beauty, the love, the humanity of a people who have never lost touch with their lands, their families, their culture,their indigenous roots and their humanity.

Beautiful verse and surreal imagery! Jimmy Santiago Baca allows the reader a glimpse of Latino-American life in Martin & Meditations on the South Valley. This book is a highly recommended read, both for its poetic value and introspective quality