Bashir is the daughter of an African-American mother and a first generation immigrant from Somalia. She is the author of Field Theories, as well Gospel and Where the Apple Falls, which were both Lambda Literary Award finalists. She is also the author of the chapbooks Wearing Shorts on the First Day of Spring, American Visa, and Teasing Crow. 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 Retreat, as James Cody Scholar for the James Dick Foundation for the Arts, and as Artist in Residence with The Austin Project. 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.
Recognition
Bashir's poetry, stories, articles, essays and editorial work have been featured in Poetry, Drunken Boat, World Literature Today, Ecotone, HOAX, The Normal School, Poet Lore, Callaloo, Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, Other Countries: Voices Rising, 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, and The Encyclopedia Project. Her poems have appeared in anthologies, including War Diaries, Best Lesbian Erotica 03, Best of the Best Lesbian Erotica, and the Cave Canem Anthology: VII. Awards, grants, fellowships, and residencies include the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, the NEA, the University of California, the Astraea Foundation, the National League of American Pen Women, Community of Writers at Squaw Valley, Soul Mountain Retreat, The Austin Project, Alma de Mujer, the Lesbian Poetry Award from the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, and the James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts, among others. She was a recipient of the 2011 Aquarius Press Legacy Award, given annually in recognition of women writers of color who actively provide creative opportunities for other writers.
