TODAY'S FEATURED POET

Jimmy Santiago Baca (1952-0) Born in 1952 in Santa Fe of Chicano and Apache descent, Jimmy Santiago Baca was abandoned by his parents and at thirteen ran away the from orphanage where his grandmother put him. He was convicted on drug charges in 1973 and spent five years in prison. There he learned to read and began writing poetry. His verse novel, Martin and Meditations on the South Valley, received the American Book Award in 1989. In addition to seven books of poetry, he has published memoirs, essays, stories, and a movie screenplay—Bound by Honor, released in 1993. More » Poems Ancestor As Children Know It would be neat if with the New Year Meditations on the South Valley: Part XX

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Some poems do have variants, but for the sake of fairness and consistency, we ask students to memorize a poem as it appears in the Poetry Out Loud website or the Poetry Out Loud printed anthology. Teachers and accuracy judges use text from the official Poetry Out Loud anthologies in judging a student's performance.