17 October 2013 Writing is Freedom Jimmy Santiago Baca offers an insight into his dynamic voyage to self-realization.”Becoming a Poet” is an essay taken from Baca’s autobiography. He provides a powerful message through his writings. Writing is a means to freedom and it allowed Baca to efficiently find his voice. Baca seemed like an average convict who picked up the hobby of writing to the naked eye. In reality Baca let books play a prominent role in his life, let language free him, and intimately connected with his audience. Baca expressed that writing offers an escape to anyone willing to attempt to reach for it.
Books were vital to Baca’s survival in the harsh conditions he was subjected to while incarcerated. Baca stated, “Even as I tried to convince myself that I was merely curious, I became so absorbed in how the sounds created music in me …show more content…
Baca realized that he was a functioning illiterate. He wanted to become educated even under undesirable circumstances. He mentions in his essay that he asked his pen pal for a grammar book, although he did not revive it this shows that he had an interest in improving his writing. Baca’s abuse and suffering began after he demanded that he be able to receive his GED. The captain knew what power the GED held. Writing can open doors and make one conscious. Baca was supposed to be kept in the dark. Instead, although under tyranny, he thrived in the darkness and became a poet.
Jimmy Santiago Baca made books essential, let language free him from his physical restraints, and he wrote an essay resonated with me loudly. Writing is freedom and allowed Baca to find his voice. Although the content that you can read can be monitored, no one can stop the voice that is inside your head. That inner voice then flows to paper, and without interruption or interjection it becomes the purest form of