Category: Editor’s Note

We would like to welcome you readers to yet another fantastic double edition, 24.31/32, of the one and only The Beat Within! Once again we bring you the powerful OT, who truly plays a role in helping us put this publication together.  We are grateful for his immense commitment to The Beat Within, as much as we are to you readers and writers who step up to share your stories and art.  As most of you know, there is plenty of great writing to be read in this latest issue so have at it, but allow yourself to start with

Greetings friends! It has been some time since we had our ol’ friend and colleague, OT, write the editorial note and this week he truly doesn’t disappoint, as he steps up to share a few words. It is truly an honor to have OT back in the pages of the ed note. If you didn’t know, he supports the work day in and day out, helping with editing, typing, writing responses and intros to the various pieces, as well as doing the Spanish translations. We have known OT for many years, since he was a youth in juvenile hall, writing

Greetings friends! Welcome to double issue 24.27/28! This week we welcome to our editorial pages another stellar pairing of reflections by high school students, this time from San Francisco University High School. In her reflection, Rania offers honest insight into her own development of resiliency, and critiques the function of American prisons versus prisons abroad. Lukas thinks critically of his role as the “gatekeeper” of Beat Without writing, and asks a lot of great questions around artistic agency and editorial guidelines. We appreciate the hard work of both Rania and Lukas, and the brilliant reflections that they’ve had on our

The power of expression is loud and clear in our latest double issue of The Beat Within, 24.25/26. We are incredibly impressed by all our amazing contributors who courageously share their truths and art each week in our one of a kind writing workshop sessions. The end result being published in our national magazine, The Beat Within, which reaches those (young and old) in the community and local schools, to those in custody (around the country). We hope you enjoy this latest issue!  Now as the school year comes to a close, for this week’s editorial note, we’re welcoming the

Welcome friends and colleagues to our latest double issue of the one and only The Beat Within.  We are thrilled to have back in our pages, the one and only, OT! OT,  if you did not know, is truly our right hand man when it comes to supporting this one of a kind publication and we could not ask for a better colleague and friend to share his truths in this week’s editorial note. Allow us to cut to the chase and hand the keyboard over to OT!  This is OT once again with the privilege to hear your stories,

Greetings readers! Welcome to issue 23.21/22!  We are thrilled to have you readers back for another edition of The Beat Within. There is something for everybody in our magazine and we hope you find the inspiration and connection you are looking for. Inside you will find plenty of writings from our community workshops, our sessions inside the various juvenile halls we visit, the SF County Jail and a number of pieces from our thoughtful writers from state prison.   This week, it is a pleasure to welcome back the reflections of two of our recent high school interns at the

Welcome friends to another outstanding double issue, 24.19/20, of The Beat Within. Recently we’ve been publishing the reflections of our student interns from the Urban School of San Francisco. Our amazingly insightful interns have been transcribing writing from The Beat Without, and we’re ever so grateful for their time and dedication to our mission. This week, Tavi writes about how a function on his laptop allowed him a different way to access the writing from our authors, allowing the pages to literally speak for themselves, and listening to the writing as if it were meant for him. While Ben reflects

Welcome friends to another outstanding double issue, 24.17/18, of The Beat Within. This week our dear friend and colleague, Alyssa Maano, sent us a powerful editorial  about her connection to The Beat Within and the late rapper, Nipsey Hussle, who sadly was taken from us way too soon. We really appreciate her heartfelt message, as much as we appreciate her immense dedication to the workshops she leads inside the Sacramento County Juvenile Detention Facility.  Thank you, Alyssa!   About five years ago, I began my journey with The Beat Within.  I was about 21 years old and had been sick

Welcome back to the editorial pages of The Beat Within, where we are showcasing another couple of reflections from our amazing interns, students at the Urban High School of San Francisco. If you’re just joining us, we work with high school students to transcribe pieces that come to us through The Beat Without, a section of our magazine comprised of writing from primarily adults in various institutions around the state and beyond. This week we have Indy, who through his work with us, begins to recognize the many ways that oppression is woven into the lives of incarcerated individuals. We

Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.