It's simple: we're lucky to have Andrea Gibson. If you've ever felt like your existence does not matter, you'll want to embroider Gibson's words onto your heart and never let them go. A force to be reckoned with in the slam poetry scene, there is not a person in this world Gibson's poetry fails to care about. They somehow manage to explore the complicated, emotional realms of mental illness, love, gender, sexuality, family, and war without sacrificing a moment of grace. The best way to describe Gibson's voice is "forgiving." They are by all means an activist in everything they write. They fight for those who are marginalized not with aggression, but with the most genuine kindness. Honestly, just thinking about Gibson right now is making me teary-eyed.
They have written three collections (The Madness Vase, Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns, and Pansy).
The trauma said, "Don't write these poems.
Nobody wants to hear you cry
about the grief inside your bones."
But my bones said, "Tyler Clementi jumped
from the George Washington Bridge
into the Hudson River convinced
he was entirely alone."
My bones said, "Write the poems."
— excerpt from "The Madness Vase" by Andrea Gibson
