English

Jimmy Santiago Baca has long believed in the powerful ability of literature to change and improve lives.

For your first major paper, please read all of the poems in Spring Poems Along the Rio Grande. As you read, mark specific lines of verse that reflect Baca's search to find spirituality in nature. Look for examples of figurative speech:

Personification

Simile

Metaphor

Symbolism

Remember that Jimmy Santiago Baca is a free verse poet, so he is not confined to any traditional or mathematical meter/line breaks/rhyme. Pay attention to his line lengths, word choices, stanza breaks, and how he ends each line. Please review our Intro to Poetry handout for the definitions of figurative speech.

For your 1000 word written analysis, illustrate Baca's spiritual union with nature by quoting lines from at least five of his poems. When you type the line of verse into your analysis, please note the poem's title and page number.

Please include an introduction and conclusion. In your conclusion, I would like you to reflect on your own personal feelings/reactions to Spring Poems Along the Rio Grande.

Most of your analysis should be "analysis," so keep the quotes to a minimum!!! Your grade will be based on the thoroughness of your analysis, the strength of your quotes/examples, and your thoughtfulness and openmindedness! You may write more than the 1000 word minimum.

Please see Grading Rubric for Baca Essay File attached below. Thank you.