The Importance of a Piece of Paper: Stories

by Jimmy Santiago Baca

In the title story, two siblings must face the brother who has betrayed them by selling his share of the family land and forsaking a centuries-old land grant, leaving an entire community vulnerable. In "The Three Sons of Julia," a long-suffering mother, whose one request is that all her sons come home to the barrio for the Fourth of July, watches her dream shatter as two of her sons - one a successful businessman with a white wife and the other a hard-drinking ex-con - nearly destroy her house, and each other, by the night's end. In "Runaway," a young orphan discovers the consolations of fraternity when he is forced to care for a boy whose circumstances are even more dire than his own.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Poetry

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

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

Reviews

[Kathrina]

I was in a somewhat awkward position of greeting Jimmy at the airport on a recent visit to our campus, but he endured a series of flight cancellations and redirections, and I never had the honor to meet him. However, we phoned and texted so much that I feel like he's my favorite uncle. Someday we'll have a reunion, and toast to that crazy day in May when Mother Nature seemed so against us.
His memoir, A Place to Stand, will knock your socks off. His teaching strategies, Stories from the Edge, may inspire you. This, his first collection of short stories, well...The raw material is there, but the writing sometimes misses its mark. I'm looking forward to more recent work, especially since he told me about his second memoir due out soon, his experience in returning to free society.

[Rob]

Beautifully written prose. These are not easy to read, so much sadness permeates the page, but the stories resonate regardless of whether they reflect the reader's life experiences or not.

[Alisia Muir]

This collection of short stories made me smile.

[Molly Nelson]

Nuggets of New Mexico. Overwrought at times but delivers compelling imagery from the Southwest.

[Darren Beck]

Solid writing. Feels for the most part like people he may have known, going through their own lived circumstances. Even his worst stuff beats many of his contemporaries.

[Andres Chavez]

Great Book really like the stoires.

[Kah Peh]

As you can see with my Baca adds, I am a huge fan. I was really disappointed in this book, I think the stories were a little forced and formulaic, not the feeling you get at all from his poetry. Sorry Jimmy.

[Tuck]

i've tried and tried and have never been able to finish a baca book. i think i just ordered his new one too. what the fuck is wrong with me. its like i'm hypnotized or something to buy his crap. "he followed her eyes like a crow staring intently at oval cherries on an uppermost branch" etc...

[Gina Ruiz]

http://ginasblogging.blogspot.com/200...

[Sharon]

He's an unconventional poet, but lines of pure truth lie everywhere on his pages like gold nuggets.

[LG]

It's a uneven collection. I enjoyed it more than most books - but some of the plots left something to be desired.

[Brenda Srof]

I read this book in a book club of cross cultural readings. I loved everything I read during this book club experience. This was one of my favorites.

[Matt]

With one exception, I found the stories in this collection to be deeply, deeply human. The exception, "Bull's Blood", leans more in the direction of myth. I very much enjoyed this book.

[Staci Martin]

already cried by page 10

[Adriana Diaz]

Jimmy Santiago Baca is a unique writer. I would suggest that anyone wanting to acquaint him/herself of his work should begin A Place to Stand. Knowing the initial fierce survival accomplished by this author in the earlier years of his life, adds weight to the depth and texture of his characters. His first book, A Place to Stand was so immediately gritty and painful that, in my opinion, it overshadows The Importance of a Piece of Paper. But in this volume, we can take our time to think about identity and culture, commitment and action. I recommend both, but in the order already suggested.