Samiya Bashir
Encyclopedia
Samiya Bashir is an African American
poet and author of two full-length collections of poetry
.
. Her first book of poetry, Where the Apple Falls (RedBone Press), was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award
.
Gospel, "an ecumenical resistance song in four parts," is her second book of poetry and was also published by RedBone Press. Alexis Pauline Gumbs stated that Gospel "redefin[es] both sexuality and salvation with a close look at the infinite places and moments when the human body meets despair, pleasure and transcendence." Bashir is also the editor of Best Black Women's Erotica 2 (Cleis Press
) and co-editor of Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social & Political Black Literature & Art (Third World Press
), with Tony Medina and Quraysh Ali Lansana.
Bashir’s poetry, stories, articles, essays and editorial work have been featured in Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, Other Countries: Voices Rising, The Callaloo Journal
, Reverie, Carry the Word, Essence Magazine, Obsidian III, CaKe #3, Cave Canem #7, Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint, Contemporary American Women Poets, Best Lesbian Erotica 03, The San Francisco Bay Guardian
, Ms. Magazine
, Black Issues Book Review
, Curve
, Vibe
, Seventeen
, XXL
, Lambda Book Report, and The American Journal of Public Health
.
Bashir is a founding organizer of Fire & Ink, a writers festival for LGBT writers of African descent, and is an alumni fellow of Cave Canem. She has served as Writer in Residence at Soul Mountain, as James Cody Scholar for the James Dick Foundation for the Arts, and as Artist in Residence with The Austin Project. She has published three chapbook
poetry collections: Teasing Crow, Wearing Shorts on the First Day of Spring, and American Visa.
She has served as the contributing editor of Black Issues Book Review and Curve Magazine and the book editor of Ms. Magazine. In addition, Bashir has served on the National Black Justice Coalition's board of directors.
Bashir won the Lesbian Poetry Award from the Astraea Lesbian Foundation.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
poet and author of two full-length collections of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
.
Life and career
Bashir is the daughter of an African American mother and a first generation immigrant from SomaliaSomalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
. Her first book of poetry, Where the Apple Falls (RedBone Press), was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
.
Gospel, "an ecumenical resistance song in four parts," is her second book of poetry and was also published by RedBone Press. Alexis Pauline Gumbs stated that Gospel "redefin[es] both sexuality and salvation with a close look at the infinite places and moments when the human body meets despair, pleasure and transcendence." Bashir is also the editor of Best Black Women's Erotica 2 (Cleis Press
Cleis Press
Cleis Press is an independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, later moved to San Francisco, and is now based out of Berkeley, CA...
) and co-editor of Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social & Political Black Literature & Art (Third World Press
Third World Press
Third World Press is the largest independent black-owned press in the United States.In December 1967, Haki R. Madhubuti met with poet and activist Carolyn Rodgers and Johari Amini in the basement of a South Side apartment in Chicago to found Third World Press, an outlet for African-American...
), with Tony Medina and Quraysh Ali Lansana.
Bashir’s poetry, stories, articles, essays and editorial work have been featured in Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, Other Countries: Voices Rising, The Callaloo Journal
The Callaloo Journal
Callaloo was founded in 1976 by its current editor, Charles Henry Rowell, when he was teaching at Southern University . He originally described the fledgling periodical as a “Black South Journal,” whose function was to serve as a publication outlet for marginalized writers in the racially...
, Reverie, Carry the Word, Essence Magazine, Obsidian III, CaKe #3, Cave Canem #7, Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint, Contemporary American Women Poets, Best Lesbian Erotica 03, The San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco Bay Guardian
The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...
, Ms. Magazine
Ms. magazine
Ms. is an American feminist magazine co-founded by American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem and founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin together with founding editors Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock, that first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine...
, Black Issues Book Review
Black Issues Book Review
Black Issues Book Review was a bimonthly magazine published in the U.S. in which books of interest to African-American readers were reviewed. It was published from 1999 through 2007....
, Curve
Curve (magazine)
Curve is a lesbian magazine in the United States. It covers news, politics, social issues, and includes celebrity interviews and stories on entertainment, pop culture, style, travel, and a website that hosts an internet forum focusing on lesbian issues, active since 2000.The magazine was first...
, Vibe
VIBE
Vibe is a music and entertainment magazine founded by producer Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers...
, Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
, XXL
XXL (magazine)
XXL is a Hip-Hop magazine, published by Harris Publications.In 1997, XXL was founded by former Source staffers as well as other Harris Publication employees, who wanted to create their own magazine about the hip-hop music and culture using the model developed by the founders of The Source...
, Lambda Book Report, and The American Journal of Public Health
American Journal of Public Health
The American Journal of Public Health is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Public Health Association covering health policy and public health. The journal was established in 1911 and its stated mission is "to advance public health research, policy, practice, and...
.
Bashir is a founding organizer of Fire & Ink, a writers festival for LGBT writers of African descent, and is an alumni fellow of Cave Canem. She has served as Writer in Residence at Soul Mountain, as James Cody Scholar for the James Dick Foundation for the Arts, and as Artist in Residence with The Austin Project. She has published three chapbook
Chapbook
A chapbook is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chap-book was formalized by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera , popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales,...
poetry collections: Teasing Crow, Wearing Shorts on the First Day of Spring, and American Visa.
She has served as the contributing editor of Black Issues Book Review and Curve Magazine and the book editor of Ms. Magazine. In addition, Bashir has served on the National Black Justice Coalition's board of directors.
Bashir won the Lesbian Poetry Award from the Astraea Lesbian Foundation.