Category: Daily Blog

A decades-long presence in the San Francisco juvenile justice sphere, Inocencio dedicated his life to the twice-monthly magazine he helped launch in 1996, and was widely recognized for his passion for uplifting the voices of those behind bars. Link

Greetings Friends!! Today our wonderful long time partners over at the JJIE (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange), based in Kennesaw, Georgia, have picked up and posted a powerful letter/submission, that was originally published in The Beat Within, from juvenile lifer Michael Arreygue, who wrote this magnificent piece from Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, California. He states; “All of us during our lives as children, adolescents and eventually adults need some encouragement. As the individuals we are, we tend to learn differently, have different perspectives and take risks on different levels. For those like myself, words of encouragement were really needed in my life to fulfill my

Greetings Friends, Recently, one of our writing prompts in our weekly workshops inside juvenile hall and beyond was the topic, “Dear Dad.” The topic reads: A Letter to My Dad – The letter you always wanted (or maybe never wanted) to write. Though the letter may never be seen by this person, we want you, as a writing exercise, to write that letter. Tell your father, or the one who has played the father role in your life, whatever you think they need to know.  Are you happy with his role as your dad, or is there room for improvement?  Maybe share a specific memory of

Greetings all! As January comes to a close, our partners and friends over at the JJIE (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange) based in Kennesaw, GA, have picked up and posted a wonderful piece from the talented Mathew Edwards, who for the last couple years has been a wonderful contributor in The Beat Within writing workshops inside San Quentin State Prison.  We must say, Mathew consistently writes stellar pieces about his journey and hunger for another date with freedom. Forgiveness Is for Me http://jjie.org/2017/01/30/forgiveness-is-for-me/ Back in June 2016, the JJIE featured his piece, In for Life After a Life of Abuse http://jjie.org/2016/06/27/in-for-life-after-a-life-of-abuse/ February, 2016, JJIE picked up his

Greetings, Recently we asked our writers in our weekly juvenile hall writing workshops to reflect on the upcoming Donald Trump presidency. We were quite surprised how many different opinions were shared.  Some responded with angry commentaries, poetry and rap.  Another pleaded for Americans to “give him a chance,” pointing out that as “wards of the state, if no one gives us a chance to change, how can we?” Well, right before the holidays, we sent numerous “Trump” reaction pieces to The Crime Report, based in New York City, to consider, and yesterday we were informed that they picked up and posted an abridged and slightly

Happy New Year all! Wow, like our friends over at the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, The Crime Report, based in New York City, picked up and is featuring on their site their favorite “Dear President Obama” pieces from The Beat Within and are featuring these standout pieces today. We must say, they did an outstanding job with the spread on their site. A couple months ago one of our writing prompts in our weekly writings workshops inside juvenile hall, county jail and state prison was a “Letter to President Obama.” We were overwhelmed by the response from our many writers,

Like all milestones that inspire genuine pride, our self-satisfaction is accompanied by a big dose of humility, as we reflect on all the incredible writers and workshop facilitators who have poured their energy, talent, compassion, and love into this program. The Beat simply would have long since ceased to be without the courage of our participants and the dedication of scores of workshop facilitators, typists and editors who gave so much and asked for so little in return. Now we humbly ask you to reaffirm your belief in the power of the written word to enlighten minds, elevate spirits, and liberate

One of the most anticipated literary nights of the year, San Francisco’s world-famous Lit Crawl attracts close to 10,000 people, and features over 400 authors in just three hours. Lit Crawl brings literature to the streets, featuring smart and silly, worldly and wacky events in venues usual (bars, cafes, galleries, and bookstores) and unusual (police stations, tattoo parlors, barbershops, and erotica boutiques). For 20 years, the Beat Within has been publishing the soul-stirring poetry and essays of kids locked in juvenile hall in and outside the San Francisco Bay Area. Come learn about this extraordinary program, get inspired, and learn how you can help! Please