Raised in Italy and based in Brooklyn, Ashna Ali (they/them) is a queer, agender Bangladeshi diasporic poet, writer, editor, and writing coach. They are invested in community co-creation, advocacy, and cultural activism around social justice issues through art and education. Their poetry and research explore issues of gender and queer justice, disability and chronic illness, postcolonial migration and diaspora, critical race theory, restorative justice, and narrative documentary practices in poetry and visual art.
They are the author of the chapbook The Relativity of Living Well (The Operating System, 2022) and their work has been featured or is forthcoming in several academic and poetry journals including Indiana Review, Nat. Brut, Kajal Mag, Zoeglossia, Sundog Lit, Breadcrumbs, Bone Bouquet, The Felt, femmescapes, The Journal of Narrative Theory, and Text Zur Kunst. They hold a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from The Graduate Center, City University of New York, and served as a professor of literature at Bard High School Early College Manhattan, The New School, Queens College, and City College. Currently, they manage Chelsea Manning and serve at Chief Operating Officer of tech start-up Luminairity Communications, LLC. They live in Kensington, Brooklyn, with their sphynx familiar, Kubo Avatar.
Email: ashnaali@gmail.com
Instagram: @doctordushtu
Bluesky: @doctordushtu
