Andrea Gibson | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 13, 1975 |
| Other names | Andrew, Andy, Anderson, Dre, Gibby, Gib, Gibbs, Gibba, Sam, Faye, Pangee |
| Known for | Spoken word poetry, activism |
| Notable work | Hey Galaxy, Lord of the Butterflies, Take Me With You |
| Awards | Four-time Denver Grand Slam Champion, Women of the World Poetry Slam champion 2008 |
| Honors | Colorado Poet Laureate |
| Website | https://www.andreagibson.org/ |
Andrea Gibson (born August 13, 1975) is an American poet and activist from Calais, Maine, who has lived in Boulder, Colorado since 1999. [1] Gibson's poetry focuses on gender norms, politics, social reform, and LGBTQ topics. [2]
Gibson grew up in Calais, Maine. [3] They have one sister, Laura, who is mentioned in a poem "The Moon Is a Kite". [4] Growing up in a Baptist home and attending local schools, they later attended Saint Joseph's College of Maine. [5] [6]
Moving with a girlfriend, Gibson lived for a time in New Orleans, and later the two moved in 1999 to Boulder, Colorado, where they settled. [7] They went to their first open-mic in Denver, where Gibson was inspired to become a spoken word artist. [8]
Gibson uses gender-neutral pronouns, specifically they/them/theirs. [9] Many of their poems are about gender identity, such as "Swing Set" and "Andrew". [10] Gibson has said, regarding gender, "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." [11] Regarding appellation, Gibson has expressed affinity for a variety of names, stating "The names my loved ones call me that I love being called: Andrea. Andrew. Andy. Anderson. Dre. Gibby. Gib. Gibbs. Gibba. Sam. Faye. Pangee." [1]
Gibson has been diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease (CLD). They have spoken openly about their experiences with CLD, physical suffering, and difficulty accessing care and treatment. [12] They have worked towards spreading awareness of CLD. [13]
They have undergone chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. [14] They announced a recurrence on 05/31/2023 during We Can Do Hard Things podcast with Glennon Doyle. [15]
A four-time Denver Grand Slam Champion, Gibson finished fourth at the 2004 National Poetry Slam, and third at both the 2006 and 2007 Individual World Poetry Slam. [16] [17] In 2008, Gibson became the first poet ever to win the Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWps) in Detroit. [18]
In 2008, Gibson published their first book, Pole Dancing To Gospel Hymns. [19] This was followed by The Madness Vase and Pansy, all published by Write Bloody Publishing. [20] [21] Gibson has also written and published Take Me With You, a book of quotes and phrases. In 2018, they published Lord of the Butterflies. [22]
The album Yellowbird incorporates music with spoken word. Confronting fear was a theme in poems of the following album, Flower Boy. Gibson also released Truce in 2013, followed by Hey Galaxy in 2018. [22]
Gibson cites Sonya Renee Taylor, Derrick Brown, Anis Mojgani, Patricia Smith, and Mary Oliver as influences. [23] Throughout the year, Gibson tours universities and other venues across the country. [24]
Gibson often performs poems at Button Poetry. [25]
In addition to using poetry to provide social and political commentary on gender and LGBTQ issues, Gibson is involved with many activist groups, and also performs at Take Back the Night events. [26] For twenty years, Gibson performed with Vox Feminista, a "performance tribe of radical feminists bent on social change through cultural revolution." [11]
In 2013, alongside Kelsey Gibb, Gibson launched the website and support system, Stay Here With Me. The tumblr account for Stay Here With Me presents it as "an interactive, safe space offering collective support while encouraging individual healing to keep those who visit alive today, and wanting to stay alive until tomorrow." [27]
Gibson is a four-time Denver Grand Slam Champion. [39] They placed fourth in the 2004 National Poetry Slam and third in the 2006 and 2007 Individual World Poetry Slam. [40] Gibson was the first person to win the Women of the World Poetry Slam in 2008. [41]
Andrea has also been appointed as Colorado’s Poet Laureate by Governor Jared Polis. [42]
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery.
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of recitation and word play, such as the performer's live intonation and voice inflection. Spoken word is a "catchall" term that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including poetry readings, poetry slams, jazz poetry, pianologues, musical readings, and hip hop music, and can include comedy routines and prose monologues. Unlike written poetry, the poetic text takes its quality less from the visual aesthetics on a page, but depends more on phonaesthetics, or the aesthetics of sound.
Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry, better known as simply Def Poetry Jam or Def Poetry, is a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by established and up-and-coming spoken word poets. Performances also include special appearances by well-known actors and musicians, as well as occasional performances by Mos Def himself. Co-created by Bruce George, Danny Simmons, Deborah Pointer, Stan Lathan, and Russell Simmons, the show is a spin-off of the popular Def Comedy Jam which began airing on HBO in the 1990s. As with Def Comedy, Simmons appears at the end of every episode to thank the audience.
The National Poetry Slam (NPS) was a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurred in early August every year and in different U.S. cities. The last National Poetry Slam took place in 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Suzi Q. Smith is an American an award-winning artist, activist, and educator who lives in Denver, Colorado.
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Rudy K. Francisco is an American spoken word poet and writer. He has won several poetry slams and written six books of poetry: Getting Stitches, Scratch, No Gravity, No Gravity Part II, Helium, and I'll Fly Away. He made an appearance on TV One's Verses and Flow and performed his spoken word poems "Complainers" and "Rifle" on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
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Desireé Dallagiacomo is an American spoken word poet and teaching artist. She is of European and Choctaw descent, and she is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Her first book of poetry, SINK, was published by Button Poetry in March 2019. Before publishing her first full-length collection, her poems amassed millions of views on Youtube. Her poems, "Thighs Say" “Real Sex Tips.” and “Shave Me” among others were first published by Button Poetry. She is a Pushcart Prize Nominee.
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