by YoungMan, San Mateo My main purpose in writing this is to apologize to my parents that have taken care of me, helped me and supported me since day one. Even though there’s times that I put them through hell, I wouldn’t be where I was without them. You guys have done the unimaginable and helped me throughout my whole life. The first parent is my mom and this is one of the most important people to me. Being in here really taught me to appreciate my mom. Now, don’t get me wrong, I never did anything out of pocket
Continue ReadingThankful For That Which I Do Not Deserve
by Armando Gonzalez, San Quentin State Prison, CA In the middle of quick purposeful strides towards the young man I intend to beat on I am stopped by, “He has a gun!” Literally arm’s length away, I pause to ask him, “What’s up, you strapped or what?” Thinking that as he pulls the gun out, I can take it away from him. Instead, I see the barrel point up at me from inside the pocket of the heavy jacket he had on. I couldn’t think to do anything else but twist and basically try to hide behind my own arm.
Continue ReadingDear You
by Jaymone K. Lewis, otosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point, Missouri What thoughts are enveloping your conscious at this moment? Think beyond the words that you are consciously reading right now and really try to grasp the deepest thoughts possible. What drew your mind to want to look into the thoughts of others? Was it boredom? Curiosity about other forms of human Nature? Or did you want to trade shoes with someone else temporarily and have any relevance to yours. I asked those questions to get your brain running while also opening a door to deeper thinking. Why? Because life
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Volume 26.31/32
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 26.31/32
Another week, another Beat! We are thrilled to get this latest issue of our amazing publication into your hands. There is plenty of great writings to be shared and to be able to produce this one-of-a-kind publication every two weeks means the world to us. We can’t thank you, writers and artists, enough for all your time and work. The dedication of your writing truly shines in these pages! We can’t thank our many partners, allies, and friends who help make this program a success for all of us. This is the kind of work where you can’t do it
Continue ReadingBeautiful Struggle
by AL, Santa Clara Life is not always easy, there’s a constant struggle occurring every single day. But it’s a beautiful struggle, and I refuse to succumb to my adversities. Instead, I learn and I grow from my mistakes ‘cause life’s a test. Being in here showed me it’s lonely at the top when you focused on doing better and bigger things. People envy you, they rather see me dead or in prison ‘til you rot before they ever give you props. I’ve been going through a lot but I ain’t got nothin’ to prove. I learned tryin’ to please
Continue ReadingMy Favorite Things To Do
by Junior, San Mateo I enjoy doing many things during my lifetime. Especially during the winter, spring and the summer. Something I like to do is playing video games. For example, my PlayStation 4 that I have at my house. I enjoy playing many games on it and I also love playing online with local friends and many other people I meet online. The main video games that I play are Fortnite, Call Of Duty, Black Ops Three, Warzone etc., Grand Theft Auto and sometimes Minecraft. There are many other video games that I would play, but I would play
Continue ReadingBones and Anger
by Jr., San Mateo My life is very crazy and many things have happened in my life that might not have happened to other people. For example, one time I was at my basketball game and we had to play a rival team. I knew people that played for the team so I was talking smack to them just to get in their head. Once it was game time, I got my team pumped up because I was the team captain. I tucked my jersey in because we have to, then waited for the tip off. I made the first
Continue ReadingWe Can’t Heal From Pain Until We Learn To talk About Pain
by Harry C.Goodall Jr., San Quentin State Prison, CA There are times that our fear can be just as a big a barrier as a brick wall. This real life issue presents itself when it comes for us recovering from trauma. When I think of all the things that would make me grown I was lost. When I was younger, parts of me that thought if I could hold my liquor, I could be grown. There was even a part of me that thought if only I had money I would have power and respect. That money could buy any
Continue ReadingCYA Days
by Jesse Ayers, San Quentin State Prison, CA I am 42 years old, my birthday is May 24th, I was first arrested at the age of six years old. I didn’t go inside Juvenile Hall until I was fourteen. Between 6-14 I was in police stations, probation courts, community service, “scared straight” program where we took a tour of Corcoran State Prison (back in 1990). My dad had been to prison, my Uncle was on B-yard in Corcoran, during my “tour” to scare me straight. There was no “tactic” to trick me into being a “good kid.” No one could
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