by On The Journey To My True Self, San Diego First are my trust issues. Growing up, my dad promised me something and would never follow through with anything he promised me. Then, when I got a little older, I started dating, and boys really taught me you can’t trust anyone no matter what they say or do. My mother also gave me trust issues, always lying to me all the time. Then, the trust issues really started to grow on me from forming a lot of new bonds and relationships. Soon, I started realizing that I was losing interest
Continue ReadingAware
by KC The Dreaded Poet, California Men’s Colony State Prison, San Luis Obispo, CA I am aware of my place, I put me where they could seeThose that hate me I helped plot on meI was engaged in activities the opposite of preventing clashesBetween the cops and meAin’t no stoppin’ me was the prevailing thoughtUntil my unhealthy desires allowed me to get caughtAn onslaught of valid charges and true accusationsLed to a barrage of guilty verdicts and consecutive terms of incarcerationMy revelation, came when a man with a name I didn’t knowEnded my life with a sentenceLife888 months to serveLife
Continue ReadingOne Year Older, One Year Wiser
by Harry Goodall Jr., San Quentin State Prison, CA I have no idea what TV and movie writers had up their sleeve. It was a lot of movies that came out and validated dying young. I guess it can be said that these movies glamorized this ideology. At the same time, gangsta rap was taking off. It was the battle of the East Coast versus the West Coast rap styles. It was a situation of most urban or ghetto areas visualized the police as enemies. The thought left people feeling it was, “me against the world.” Our ears were filled
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Volume 28.03/04
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 28.03/04
The latest Beat is back in your hands with more insightful writing and art for you amazing supporters, friends, colleagues, partners, writers and artists. This latest issue, 28.03/04, which you are holding will certainly give you plenty of inspiration and insights as you flip from page to page, while reading many of the different entries from around the state and beyond. It’s OT coming to you guys live and direct. This latest editorial note was inspired by one of the writing prompts this week which was the words from the wise quote of the week. “I really get motivated when
Continue ReadingOne Year Older, One Year Wiser
by Queen Jai, Sonoma As I say goodbye to my past, I say hello to my future. I let the trauma go while I let the love follow me to a place called home. I don’t know where it will be, but I know by then I will be free. While I am free, my education is following right behind me. My past life was rough, but all I know is I can’t get enough love. I get more and more by the time it hits midnight. I love sleep, but just so you know, don’t make a peep or
Continue ReadingMy Mom, My Future, My Education, And My Block
by JN, Sacramento There are many things that matter to me. There are many things that make me, me. One person that matters to me is my mother. She is the person that matters to me the most in this world. Although I look dead on my mom, I have many of her traits. From outgoing to hardworking and humble. Another thing that matters the most to me is my future. I work a lot on my future every day the most I can while I’m incarcerated. My future matters a lot to me because it will define who I
Continue ReadingCheating At Chess
by Frederick Mason, United States Penitentiary Tucson in Tucson, Arizona (The Flaws of the Administrative Remedy In Prisons) In prisons, there are venues for inmates who have been abused or treated unfairly or inhumanely. When things like this happen, an inmate has a right to sue, if he can get his case to court. The problem is that because of PLRA (Prison Litigation Reform Act), it is much more difficult for an inmate, even if he is right, to get his case to court. In essence, PLRA requires inmates to first exhaust the Administrative Remedy Procedure…or a grievance procedure. In
Continue ReadingBeing There For Someone
by Jon D Goldberg, San Quentin State Prison, CA A good deed is when you can be there for someone when they are at their lowest low. Sometimes that could just mean an ear to listen, while they unload all their emotions and feelings. Just recently a friend that needed to talk came to my cell. He just needed someone to listen to him. I sat and took in all he had to say. He had just been found suitable for parole a couple months before and was anxious about support that was promised to him. I first sought to
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Volume 28.01/02
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
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