A documentary on poet Andrea Gibson’s cancer diagnosis, Come See Me in the Good Light, was released in 2021 by Gibson and her spouse.It quickly gained popularity at the Sundance Film Festival. Gibson, 49, a deeply expressive poet known for capturing moments with powerful, evocative language, passed away on Monday.
Gibson’s poetry was grounded in real life and often addressed critical issues affecting everyday people in Colorado — including LGBTQ+ rights, political divides, environmental concerns, gun reform, and healthcare. Their ongoing dialogue about the American healthcare system fueled their work with “Power to the Patients,” a national movement pushing hospitals to publish prices online to help patients make informed decisions.
Gibson made poetry more accessible by blending complex everyday problems into clear, relatable language.
Using the pronouns they/them, Gibson told The Sun in 2023, “I don’t write poems I don’t understand.”
“The spoken word movement has done a lot for poetry by making it something that doesn’t require a PhD or even a high school diploma to connect with.”
Since 2021, Gibson had been undergoing treatment for uterine cancer. In 2023, they were named Colorado’s Poet Laureate — a role established in 1919 to spread appreciation for poetry across the state.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, in his official statement, said Gibson was chosen “for their unwavering commitment to inspiring others through the arts and motivating action on social issues.”
On social media site X (formerly Twitter), Polis honored Gibson on Monday, noting they were known for “bringing poetry to life, advocating for the arts in education, and building bridges across Colorado’s diverse poetry community.”
Gibson took immense pride in living and working in Colorado, once saying that becoming the state’s Poet Laureate was more meaningful to them than any national award. “I learned everything I know about poetry from poets in Colorado,” they stated.
In August 2024, Gibson was awarded a fellowship by the Academy of American Poets to curate an anthology featuring Colorado’s Poet Laureates. Proceeds from the anthology will go toward supporting future Colorado laureates.
Gibson began writing poetry as a child. In 2005, they hired a manager and left their job at a Montessori school to become a full-time poet.
“The early years were tough,” Gibson admitted to The Sun, recalling how they had to figure out how to monetize their poetry — how to get paid for performances and sell their chapbooks.
Their efforts paid off. Gibson traveled the world as a spoken-word artist, published seven books, and won several accolades, including four Denver Grand Slams, two Independent Publishers Awards, and the first-ever Women of the World Poetry Slam.
Come See Me in the Good Light, an award-winning film, follows Gibson’s 2021 cancer diagnosis and their friendship with poet Megan Falley.
The documentary, which was produced by comedian Tig Notaro, won a Festival Favorite award at Sundance that year and is still showing at the festival.
Instead of letting the cancer diagnosis dim their spirit, Gibson doubled down on joy and purpose.
In 2023, following their appointment as Poet Laureate, they said to The Colorado Sun, “This changed me.”
Among those changes, Gibson began exploring how their diagnosis affected their understanding of gender. Long viewed as an activist in the LGBTQ+ community, Gibson told Go Mag in a 2018 interview that their activism inspired their art, and their queerness influenced every part of their creative process.
One of their most poignant poems, titled “MAGA Hat in the Chemo Room,” describes the experience of sitting beside a man wearing a MAGA hat.
“These conversations with people I was scared of — you know, as a queer person, I see a MAGA hat and feel fear. But then I’d be in these environments having the kindest, most loving conversations with strangers,” Gibson shared. “And I’d start thinking, ‘What can we do? Where is the bridge here? Is there a bridge?’”
Falley announced Gibson’s passing on Facebook, writing:
“For the last four years, they danced with their diagnosis and let their internal compass point relentlessly toward joy. One of the last things Andrea said on this plane was, ‘I really loved my life.’
In December 2023, while touring Colorado as Poet Laureate, Gibson wrote a moving poem called “Love Letter from the Afterlife,” dedicated to those grieving a loved one during the holidays.
“My love, I was so wrong. Dying is not the opposite of leaving,” Gibson wrote in Love Letter. “When I left my body, I didn’t leave. That gate of light wasn’t a door to somewhere else — it was a door to you.”