Greetings to our Beat writers, readers, and community members. We’re thrilled as always to bring you our latest publication of The Beat Within. Every other week when our issue goes to print, we’re in awe of the writing and testimony that comes forth from each person we have the privilege to publish in our pages. This issue brings lots of great writing on learning to compromise, how each of us defines independence, where we’re from, and paying attention — among so much more! Before we dive into our contributors’ wonderful pieces, we turn our editorial note over to four of
Continue ReadingEverybody Needs Love
-TW, Sacramento Love is good and bad. When I hear the word love, it means being in love can have many positive physiological effects on our daily lives. It can also be the harbinger of death and despair. Love can make someone kill themselves or other people when they’re in love with him or her, and for their family members. If someone breaks up with her or him, or a family member dies then they kill themselves over it. Love is good because everybody needs love in life. Love looks like the person who is always there for you no
Continue ReadingSlowing Down
-E, Sonoma Paying attention to what people say, body language, and their overall behavior — there is much to pay attention to in this world. Sometimes we’re moving too fast and we really need to slow life down in order to appreciate our blessings and enjoy the moments we have. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking about the future or sulking in the past, but this will only trap you in this mindset. Regardless if you are incarcerated, you need to pay attention to your life, to others you love, and new people you meet. Find something to
Continue ReadingConfronting Criminal Thinking
-Johnny Rodriguez Confronting criminal thinking takes an honest person to be real with themselves. Once you understand how to manage denial to get to the core of where it all began, then can you potentially help yourself. Some individuals do not want anyone to know about their personal issues and it’s perfectly normal and okay. It’s so important that you first protect yourself by learning how to healthily think out what you normalized. Talk to yourself what you normalized, and write out to yourself what you normalized while growing up even though you do not want to have family members
Continue ReadingMy Thoughts on Music
-Kelon Williams Under the warm sun, as the moisture from the ocean’s breath pacifies the hue of my skin, I swing ever so rhythmically like a Baroque era violin crescendo, of which I have yet to know. Music has been my first love, when love was just a resonating hum from the throat of her that cradles me in her arms. How sweet that melody! That part of me the conductor’s wand ignites instantly; unconsciously, when perceiving the tune, I am in the the loom of that full scale womb. I think that even the true voices of the Creator
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Volume 29.27/28
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 29.27/28
Welcome back, readers and writers of The Beat Within! We’re thrilled to be with you and to present another outstanding publication of writing and artwork from our incarcerated community members near and far. For this issue’s editorial note, we’re inviting three of our interns from Urban High School of San Francisco and their teacher, Courtney Rein, to share their perspectives on transcribing for The Beat Without, the back section of our magazine dedicated to featuring the voices of incarcerated adults. Courtney is also our lead facilitator for workshops in San Quentin State Prison and Central California Women’s Facility. Please join
Continue ReadingIt Made Me Cry
-The Real Trix, Santa Cruz Today, I’ma write about who I turn to when life gets hard. To be completely honest, I don’t feel I have anyone I can truly turn to when shhh gets hard. Don’t get me wrong — if I need a place to crash for a night or two, I got people, or if I need to borrow a couple bucks. But when it comes to emotional support or moral support or even just someone to vent/talk to, I don’t feel I got no one. I have to say I’ve always been my own rock. At
Continue ReadingMy Grandparents Are My Best Friends
-JG, Stanislaus My grandparents are my best friends. Growing up I was usually always getting in trouble because they are very strict, but not as much no more. There’s a lot as to why, but now I know they just wanted the best for me. It’s too late now, but I should have listened to them. I do regret a lot of the things I’ve done, but I wouldn’t take it back because we have a good relationship now. To be honest I’d do it all over again. What I would take back though is some of the things I’ve
Continue ReadingOvercoming Adversity
-Michael Peterson When I was eighteen years old, I enrolled in the United States Marine Corps. When I got off the bus at the front perimeter of Paris Island, a drill instructor recruiter ran over to me and yelled really loud, “Why do you want to be a marine?” I answered that on my dad side of the family, there has been a Marine in every generation going back to the first ten men enlisted into the Marines and tons tavern. One of those ten men was William Jewell Peterson, enlisted as a captain and in charge of arranging special
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