by Mr. Lee, El Paso, Texas There’s a book I own about Tupac Shakur that I ordered back in 2007. It was the first of its kind I’d ever seen. I first noticed the book at a Hastings Books Music & Video retail store that has since been closed for many years. The book was about ten inches in length and 11 inches wide. It’s a solid block of a book, about two inches thick and is a lot heavier than most books. Along the spine of the book is the title in bold print with each letter capitalized like
Continue ReadingIf You Think
by James Dickson, CTF Central Soledad in Soledad, CA If you think defunding the police will in some sort of idiotic way change the color tone of our inner cities to a rose pink then you need your head examined. The police were here before you were born and will be here long after you die. Defunding the police makes as much sense as extracting the teeth from “your” family guard dog. If you think it’s okay to ignore an officer’s direct order when they attempt to pat you down for weapons but you choose to fight, wrestle and resist,
Continue ReadingSelf-Improvement
by Chad “Get Right” Fitzpatrick, Moose Lake, Minnesota In one of my other writings titled “opportunities” that I sent to The Beat Within, I talked about an Old School named R.M. (R.I.P) who on my 3rd day in prison as a 22 year old with a 24 year sentence to do, gave me a positive run down of how to do prison life and take advantage of all the opportunities available to us behind these walls. Which brings me to this quote that a teacher here at my facility I’m at said: “Self-improvement is not just checking off boxes or
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Volume 26.33/34
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 26.33/34
Greetings! We are incredibly impressed with the amount of writing many of you are sharing with us each week, thank you. We would like to welcome you readers back for another double issue of writing and art from our amazing friends – young and old – inside and outside of the system. We are also incredibly grateful to you writers who are embracing this opportunity for the first time. The chance to have your voice heard is important. To tell your story is important and to educate your take on our topics means plenty to us and our many readers.
Continue ReadingDays In The Hall, Reflecting
by Mando, San Mateo I hate jail. It’s always the same thing every day. I hate getting told what to do all day long. Something I’m looking forward to is court. I have court soon, ten days from today. I’m not getting out soon. I know that for sure. I saw my mom today and my step dad. It was good to see them. I only get to see them for an hour though. That sucks. My mom gave me a book called Adrift. I guess it’s about a couple that gets lost at sea and it’s based on a
Continue ReadingOverthinking About My Mom
by TM, Sacramento Every day in my cell not being home, I overthink if my mom is still okay. Is she doing good? Does she have enough money for herself? How is her and my little sister doing? Is she/they stressed because I am in jail? And have things changed since I been in jail? Are they hurt or emotionally hurt? I be worried sick in my cell everyday about them and to get them off my mind. Nothing ever works because they are always, always on my mind. I try to do things like play basketball or draw to
Continue ReadingMind Battles
by D, Sacramento Being an overthinker is one of the worst things you can be. Most battles are in your mind and if you are an overthinker like I am, it can be hard. When you are an overthinker, you think very deeply into a certain subject. Sometimes deeper than you need to. You start to think about what-if’s and what can possibly happen. Overthinking can cause anxiety and maybe even depression. You can spend hours and even days thinking over and over about a specific thing. Overthinking can also be a good thing. It can lessen the possibilities of
Continue ReadingTo My Parents
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.
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