For Maki Ashe Van Steenwyk, any comfort that comes at the cost of full liberation isn’t worth keeping around. Whiteness, maleness, and other privileged positions people put stock in to keep them comfy, have to make way for a more expansive vision of what it means to be human. Community, on the other hand, can be a site of agitation — and that, the writer, activist and queer mystic says, is fertile ground for change.

About Ashe:

Maki Ashe Van Steenwyk (she/her) is a writer, activist, and queer mystic whose work explores the intersections of spirituality, power, and transformation. She is the author of the forthcoming books When Breath Finds Bone, a hybrid memoir and theoretical exploration of breath, sound, and resistance, and Shimmertwig, a fantasy novel following a young squirrel named Hackberry on a journey to uncover the truth about a mystical artifact and her own tangled lineage. Her previous books include A Wolf at the Gate, unKingdom, and That Holy Anarchist.

As the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Prophetic Imagination, Ashe develops frameworks for integrating spiritual practice with radical social action. With over two decades of experience in community building, spiritual direction, and social critique, her work challenges oppressive narratives and invites radical imagination. Her writing has appeared in Sojourners, Geez Magazine, and The Mennonite, and her work has been featured in The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Boston Globe, and CNN.com.

Beyond her writing and activism, Ashe also fosters community through Queeraoke, a queer-centered karaoke gathering that celebrates joy, resistance, and collective expression.

For more, visit makiashe.com.

Additional Links:

www.propheticimagination.orgpropheticimagination.substack.commakiashe.commakiashe.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe