Critically acclaimed poet shares story of prison, transformation

A mid-year event gave independent film lovers a taste of what they can expect at this fall’s BendFilm Festival. The organization hosted poet and author Jimmy Santiago Baca Thursday evening.

The night included a screening of the award winning documentary “A Place to Stand,” based on Baca’s critically acclaimed memoir of the same title.

“I really dig going beyond the perimeters of where they tell me I cannot go,” Baca said.

Some might consider this an understatement, if they knew Baca’s story.

“I was institutionalized for a long time, about 20 to 25 years. And in that period of time, I learned to read and write on my own,” Baca said.

He was abandoned as a child, spent five years in a maximum-security prison and was illiterate until 21. The documentary talks about a life-changing event.

He was in a prison conflict, poised to kill a man, when he heard a voice whisper, ‘If you commit this act, you will never ever be a poet.'”

He decided at that moment not to spend a lifetime behind bars. Instead, he left prison a writer.

For BendFilm, the decision to screen the documentary at their mid-year event was easy.

“He (Baca) believes so powerfully in how art or artistic expression has the ability to transform lives,” said BendFilm Director Todd Looby.

Looby said the message Baca sends coincides with their own.

For more information on Jimmy Santiago Baca visit www.jimmysantiagobaca.com

To learn more about BendFilm, and for information on the BendFilm Festival, go to www.bendfilm.org