Andrea Gibson, poet and the subject of an award-winning documentary, dies at 49
According to an announcement made on Instagram, Gibson died on Monday at their Longmont, Colorado, home at 4:16 a.m., "surrounded by their wife, Meg, four ex-girlfriends, their mother and father, dozens of friends, and their three beloved dogs."
The post also included a quote from Gibson: "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."
They were the author of seven poetry books and were well-recognized for their role in the documentary film "Come See Me in the Good Light," which won the Festival Favorite Award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The film follows both Gibson and their partner as they come to terms with their terminal cancer diagnosis.
"Throughout the Festival, we saw audiences moved by Andrea Gibson's and Megan Falley's journeys in 'Come See Me in the Good Light,'" Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming Kim Yutani said to the fest's website. "Festival goers embraced the humor and heartbreak of this intimate documentary directed by Ryan White, as it speaks to art and love and reminds us what it means to be alive as we face mortality."
Tig Notaro, a producer on the film, on Monday reminisced about the impact that Gibson had on poetry in the wake of their death.
"As far as poetry went, I really only knew the roses are red type stuff. Then, Andrea Gibson walked on stage," Notaro wrote on Instagram. "Andrea was truly a rock star poet. So many of Andrea's words have quietly guided me through life's twists and turns- I will forever be so grateful."
Gibson, born on Aug. 13, 1975, in Calais, Maine, was a two-time winner of the Independent Publisher's award in 2019 and 2021.
They were named the ninth Poet Laureate of Colorado in September 2023, and they served until their death. The two-year title honors outstanding Colorado poets and promotes the art form.
"Andrea's voice holds a fierce conviction in inspiring others to pursue art and take action toward solving social issues and they personify our Colorado for All spirit," Colorado Governor Jared Polis wrote in a press release upon Gibson's achievement in 2023. "I know Andrea will be a strong advocate for the arts and art education as a way to bring us together, has a strong desire for unity and to bring people together through poetry."
On Monday, Polis remembered Gibson as "one of a kind" and an artist who "will be deeply missed."
In 2008, Gibson won the first-ever Women of the World Poetry Slam. According to their Academy of American Poets profile, they received its Laureate Fellowship in 2024.
"Meg and Heather, the authors of this post, have absolutely no idea how to encapsulate the magnitude and magnificence of a life like Andrea Gibson's," Monday's announcement continued. "So they intend to keep writing, to keep telling Andrea's story, to keep Andrea alive in every way they can.
"Andrea would want you to know that they got their wish. In the end, their heart was covered in stretch marks."
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
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