Celebrating National Poetry Month -- Poetry Behind Bars

I don't mind eels
Except as meals.
And the way they feels.

--The Eel, by Ogden Nash

Born in 1952 in Santa Fe, poet Jimmy Santiago Baca was abandoned by his parents at the age of two, then lived with his grandmother for a few years before ending up in an orphanage, where he stayed until he was 13, when he ran away and lived on the streets.

When he was 20, Baca was sentenced to 5 years in a maximum security prison for drug possession, and spent three of those years in solitary confinement. There, Baca taught himself to read and write, and developed a love of poetry, his favorites being Lorca and Neruda. He left prison in 1979 not as a hard ex-con, but a poet. His first book, Immigrants in Our Own Land, was published that same year, after he sent three of his poems to Mother Jones poetry editor Denise Levertov. He has won numerous awards, including the Pushcart Prize, the American Book Award, the International Hispanic Heritage Award and the Cornelius P. Turner Award, which recognizes one GED graduate per year who has made significant contributions to society in education, justice, health and social welfare.

Baca has devoted his life to writing and helping those facing hardships; he conducts workshops in prisons, libraries, community centers and schools across the country, and founded the nonprofit Cedar Tree Poetics in 2005. DPL owns several of his books, including Singing at the Gates: Selected Poems, A Glass of Water, and Healing Earthquakes: A Love Story in Poems.

April is the 20th anniversary of National Poetry Month, which was first in introduced in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets as a way to appreciate, celebrate and increase awareness of poetry.

Want to join in the celebration, but aren't sure how? Check out 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month or just come into the library and check out a book of poems, such as A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver, Ten Poems to Change Your Life Again and Again by Roger Housden, or try Poetry: A Survivor's Guide by Mark Yakich, if you'd like to sharpen your poetry appreciation skills.