Southwest Word Fiesta and Western New Mexico University will host Laughing in the Light: An Evening with Jimmy Santiago Baca on Thursday, January 28, 6-7 PM via Zoom. www.https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4092162808. This event is free and open to the public, no registration required.

Laughing in the Light is Jimmy Santiago Baca’s newest collection of essays that picks up where his earlier celebrated book, Working in the Dark, left off. Laughing in the Light is the writer’s first attempt to revisit the past twenty years with a renewed heart and wizened spirit as he shares his experiences, the tough lessons he has learned, and how his views have changed. Baca delves deeper into themes ranging from arts, culture, and education to justice reform.

Jimmy Santiago Baca is an award-winning poet and writer of Chicano descent. While serving a five-year sentence in a maximum-security prison, he learned to read and write. Eventually, he emerged as a prolific author of over a dozen books, including his memoir A Place to Stand, which won the International Award and was made into a PBS documentary. Jimmy oversees his non-profit, Cedar Tree, Inc., whose bookmobile delivers free books to reservation, barrio and inner-city schools.