Winter Poems Along the Rio Grande

by Jimmy Santiago Baca

New poetry by the Champion of the International Poetry Slam and winner of the Before Columbus American Book Award, the International Hispanic Heritage Award, the Pushcart Prize, and the prestigious new International Award. A romantic and a populist, Jimmy Santiago Baca celebrates nature and the power of "becoming more the river than myself" in Winter Poems Along the Rio Grande . These poems are an expansive meditation on Baca's spiritual life, punctuated always with his feetrepeatedly, rhythmicallyon the ground as he runs every morning along the river. Baca contemplates his old life, his new love, his family and friends, those living and those dead, injustices and victories, and Chicano culture. As Denise Levertov remarked, Baca "writes with unconcealed passion" and "manifests both an intense lyricism and that transformative vision which perceives the mythical and archetypal significance of life events."

Genres: Poetry

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2004

About the author

Jimmy Santiago Baca of Apache and Chicano descent is an American poet and writer.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I applaud Baca's earnestness, but this doesn't seem like his strongest effort. There are a lack of memorable phrases, but I do appreciate his rawness and honesty.

[Michael John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living along the Rio Grande, I found Baca's poems to be inspiring as well as a wonderful reflection of life in the valley. Many of the poems in this collection bridge the humanity that we share and the natural world that surrounds us. I also love the merging of cultures in the poetry that also defines life in New Mexico.

[Desiree Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for CRT: Not a huge fan of poetry in general but I did, overall, enjoy this collection.

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a deep affection for Jimmy Santiago Baca, based on his sense of the West, his fierce commitment to remembering the world he came from (and in which he continues to live, albeit from a difference location), his sense of humor. Winter Poems Along the Rio Grande adds a deeper spiritual sensibility, one that reminds me of Joy Harjo and Denise Levertov. There were times as I read when I wondered whether the moments of prayer and wisdom would read cliche, a bit abstract, to someone who wasn't familiar with JSB. Decided I wasn't going to let it bother me and simply gave myself to the flow. It wasn't hard because there's plenty of the specific blues detail familiar from Martin and Meditations on the Valley and Black Mesa poems. Here, that focuses more on JSB's struggles to make his connection with his lovers last, something that doesn't come easy. As he tracks the ebbs and flows, moments of joy and despair, he thinks back on his past, knows that the question is deeper than "why does this keep happening to me." The best poems are deep in the blues--number 14 (the poems are numbered, not titled) is one of his very best. He listens to corrodes, Dylan, jazz....and the music infuses his lines. Through it all, the Rio Grande, and the running paths beside them, presides--the spirit's presence in the southwest. Probably not JSB's best volume, but definitely worth the time.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though his line rhythms are sometimes irritating, I love his honesty. He also has a way of combining similes and metaphors--especially from his culture and the past--that surprises me. He's a clumsy poet, but I'll be rolling through one of his pieces, and a line will suddenly grab me and make me gasp a little.

[Fatima E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

gorgeous and inspiring. full of truths and little treasures.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of very delicious food descriptions as well as attentiveness to nature. This author was mentioned by someone in my writing group and I'm glad I picked him up. Really readable.