Yeboah awarded Pushcart Prize for short story

The Pushcart Prize series is one of the most highly revered literary projects in the United States. Every year, literary magazines and small presses around the world nominate works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction from the preceding year. Out of thousands of nominees, just over 60 are selected for the Pushcart and published in the annual volume. 

Yeboah, who is specializing in creative writing, was born in Mampong, Ghana. Her chapbook, A Mouthful of Home, was selected for the African Poetry Book Fund’s New-Generation African Poets chapbook series in 2020. In 2021, she was also awarded a Narrative Prize from Narrative Magazine for two of her stories. 

When asked about receiving the Pushcart for “Dishwashing Women,” she said: 

“I started writing this story after a conversation with my friend. We were talking about all the writing we needed to get done, and also how we both had dishes in the sink we had to get to. I called us ‘the dishwashing women,’ and that phrase stayed with me. Of course, the story, as most tend to do, takes a life on its own—exploring social classes and privilege, race, the perpetual human condition of need, and most importantly, friendship. I am very proud of this story, and perhaps it’s because it is the one story that has taken me by surprise. 

“I keep returning to the moment I found out about the prize. I received the news from Tom Jenks, the editor at Narrative Magazine, when I was in Ghana. I was with my dearest and closest friends. In the past when I’ve received good news, it’s often been only me giddy with quiet excitement in my apartment, unsure what to do with myself. But this time was so special because I didn’t feel the urge to suppress how I felt. I could exclaim and hug someone, and share this tremendous and truly remarkable achievement. I immediately had two things to be thankful for: the Pushcart, and the faces of my loved ones bursting with joy, for me.”