Immigrants in Our Own Land

"There Are Black" by Jimmy Santiago Baca (1979)

This poem is another vivid and emotionally poignant depiction of prison life, emphasizing its normalization of brutality and its effect of turning inmates against each other, a theme Baca also address in “Immigrants in Our Own Land.”

"I Am Offering This Poem" by Jimmy Santiago Baca (1979)

This is another poem from Immigrants in Our Own Land. Unlike the title poem of the collection, this love poem does not address the experience of incarceration directly. However, it is a lyrical statement of his belief in the nurturing and protective power of poetry. You can also listen to Baca read the poem here.

"Who Understands Me But Me" by Jimmy Santiago Baca (1990)

This poem is an ode to the ability to overcome adversity and turn hardship and mistakes into the building blocks of personal growth. While it contains a few explicit references to incarceration, it takes a much broader view and speaks to a universal potential of discovering within ourselves previously unknown strength and richness.