Working In The Dark: Reflections Of A Poet Of The Barrio

Author Jimmy Santiago Baca was raised in an orphanage and took to the streets at age eleven, after which this amazing young Chicano taught himself to read and write. His statement, "I think that the work I do is done in the dark", encompasses many meanings central to his preoccupation with the night. In this book Baca passionately explores the troubled years of his youth, from which he emerged with heightened awareness of his ethnic identity as a Chicano, his role as a voice for the misunderstood tribal life of the barrio, and his redemptive vocation as a poet. His American Book Award for poetry in 1988 and his National Endowment for the Arts Hispanic Heritage Award in 1989 show the esteem in which his work is held.