Paddlestar Galactica, the ping-pong tournament event supporting 826DC’s programs, returns on Saturday, April 27th, 1 PM to 4 PM at SPIN DC! Learn more and sign up here.
By: Danielle

I Been Here Since I Been Born

This November, 826DC is thrilled to publish our very first compendium: a collection of the best of the best from our first five years. To celebrate the release here on the blog we will be posting a weekly podcast consisting of selections from the book, read aloud by students, volunteers, staff, and other friends of 826DC. So find a comfy spot and get ready to listen, savor, and share the words of our most inspiring young authors. This project is made possible in part by support from AT&T Aspire.

You Will Be Able to Say a Thousand Words collects the best writing from 826DC’s first five years of running fun and unique writing-based programs. Spanning genres and styles, students ages 6-18 imagine dangers on the high seas, struggles with bullying, and mourn loved ones. From advice to their former selves to advice for the reader, students begin a journey that starts on the page and ends in the boundlessness of the imagination.

This week’s featured piece from the collection is “I Been Here Since I Been Born” by Danielle Bedney, first published in Everyone is Moving No One in Place. Reading for us this week is Sujan Sedhai, a member of the intrepid Editorial Board who helped select the great works you’ll find in this collection.


yabp 2

I been here since I been born

This place here is my home

I’m used to seeing ice cream trucks on every corner,

and kids outside playing hopscotch.

But now I’m seeing new buildings and stores

Prices are rising

People are struggling harder than before

This is what happens when the gentrification begins.

You think you’re helping us but you’re making money,

And at the end my people aren’t left with any, honey.