This selection, chosen by Guest Editor Romy Ewing, is from Self-Talk by Esinam Bediako (Porkbelly Press 2025).
Content Warning: racism or racialized violence
Body/Mind Braid
In elementary school, some kids chased me down in the
playground, calling me ugly and worse. I remember their names
and their words, but I won’t speak or write them, except to
point out that one of the things they called me was an ugly
African. They themselves were African American, too, but
more American than me, they figured, since their parents had
been born in the US unlike mine. I said some know-it-all thing
like, “You know you’re African, too, right?” This was an error.
Don’t try to reason when bullies are driving you into the
ground. Just run: that’s one thing, at least, for which your body
is good.
Esinam Bediako (she/her) is a Ghanaian American writer from Detroit. She is the author of the Ann Petry Award-winning novel, Blood on the Brain (Red Hen Press, 2024), as well as the essay/poetry chapbook, Self-Talk (Porkbelly Press, 2025). You can find some of her recent work in Porter House Review, Cathexis Northwest Press, Great River Review, North American Review, and Southern Humanities Review. Esi lives in Claremont, CA with her family.
Romy Rhoads Ewing (she/her) writes from Sacramento, CA, where she was born and raised. Her work has appeared in HAD, Oyez Review, Rejection Letters, Bullshit Lit, Major 7th Magazine, and more. Her poetry chapbook please stay was published in 2024 by Bottlecap Press. Her hybrid zine, someday [everybody but] us will laugh about all of this, was briefly physically distributed at the 3rd Annual Hallow-Zine Fest and is available digitally. She also edits poetry and nonfiction for JAKE and runs the archival site SACRAMENTO DIRTBAG ARCHIVES. She can be found at romyrhoadsewing.xyz
