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It is certainly with a whole lot of Pride that we look back at the too-short life of queer writer and spoken word poet Andrea Gibson. Gibson died earlier this week after a battle with ovarian cancer. She was surrounded by her wife, several ex-girlfriends, her parents and family members, and friends.
On a recent Facebook post, it states, "Since learning they had cancer in 2021, Andrea has been a champion of finding beauty in unlikely places and gratitude in the hardest hours. Over the last four years, they danced with their diagnosis and continually aimed their internal compass toward joy. One of the last things Andrea said on this plane was, 'I f*cking loved my life.'"
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Gibson, originally from Maine, was raised by strict, observant Baptists. They graduated from St. Joseph's College of Maine with an English degree. They lived for a time in New Orleans before moving to Boulder, CO. While teaching at a Montessori school, they attended their first open mic night at Mercury Cafe in Denver, and in 2005, they left the teaching job to become a full-time poet.
Gibson returned often to themes of gender norms, politics, social justice, and LGBTQ topics for their writing and performances. After their cancer diagnosis, they also turned to writing about depression, illness, life, and mortality.
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I don't necessarily identify within a gender binary. I've never in my life really felt like a woman and I've certainly never felt like a man. I look at gender on a spectrum and I feel somewhere on that spectrum that's not landing on either side of that.
Gibson has won or ranked in several national and international poetry slam competitions, as well as winning the Independent Publishers' Book Award twice. In September 2023, they were appointed Colorado's Poet Laureate by Governor Jared Polis.
Their activism wasn't centered solely on gender, political, or LGBTQ+ community concerns. Gun violence was also an issue they addressed. In 2019, Gibson collaborated wth producer Sarah Megyesy and musician Ani DiFranco to create a video for their poem America, Reloaded."
In their relatively short time using the medium, Gibson produced a prolific collection of books and audio releases:
Gibson and their wife, poet and writer Megan Falley, are the subject of the documentary Meet Me In the Good Light directed by Ryan White and co-produced by queer comedian Tig Novaro. It won the Festival Film Favorite Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
Whenever I leave this world, whether it’s sixty years from now, I wouldn’t want anyone to say I lost some battle. I’ll be a winner that day.
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