Latest news with #MeganFalley
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Poet Andrea Gibson, candid explorer of life, death and identity, dies at 49
Andrea Gibson, a celebrated poet and performance artist who through their verse explored gender identity, politics and their 4-year battle with terminal ovarian cancer, died Monday at age 49. Gibson's death was announced on social media by their wife, Megan Falley. Gibson and Falley are the main subjects of the documentary 'Come See Me in the Good Light,' winner of the Festival Favorite Award this year at the Sundance Film Festival and scheduled to air this fall on Apple TV+. 'Andrea Gibson died in their home (in Boulder, Colorado) surrounded by their wife, Meg, four ex-girlfriends, their mother and father, dozens of friends, and their three beloved dogs,' Monday's announcement reads in part. The film — exploring the couple's enduring love as Gibson battles cancer — is directed by Ryan White and includes an original song written by Gibson, Sara Bareilles and Brandi Carlile. During a screening at Sundance in January that left much of the audience in tears, Gibson said they didn't expect to live long enough to see the documentary. Tributes poured in Monday from friends, fans and fellow poets who said Gibson's words had changed their lives — and, in some cases, saved them. Many LGBTQ+ fans said Gibson's poetry helped them learn to love themselves. People with cancer and other terminal illnesses said Gibson made them less afraid of death by reminding them that we never really leave the ones we love. In a poem Gibson wrote shortly before they died, titled 'Love Letter from the Afterlife,' they wrote: 'Dying is the opposite of leaving. When I left my body, I did not go away. That portal of light was not a portal to elsewhere, but a portal to here. I am more here than I ever was before.' Linda Williams Stay was 'awestruck' when her son, Aiden, took her to hear Gibson perform at a bar in San Francisco a decade ago. Their poetry was electrifying, lighting up the room with laughter, tears and love. Gibson's poetry became a shared interest for the mother and son, and eventually helped Stay better understand her son when he came out as transgender. 'My son this morning, when he called, we just sobbed together,' Stay said. 'He says, 'Mom, Andrea saved my life.'' 'I know,' she responded. Gibson's poetry later helped Stay cope with a cancer diagnosis of her own, which brought her son back home to St. George, Utah, to help take care of her. They were delighted when Gibson accepted their invitation to perform at an event celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in southern Utah. 'It was truly life-changing for our community down there, and even for our allies,' Stay said. 'I hope that they got a glimpse of the magnitude of their impact for queer kids in small communities that they gave so much hope to.' Gibson was born in Maine and moved to Colorado in the late 1990s, where they had served the past two years as the state's poet laureate. Their books included 'You Better Be Lightning,' 'Take Me With You' and 'Lord of the Butterflies.' Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Monday that Gibson was 'truly one of a kind' and had 'a unique ability to connect with the vast and diverse poetry lovers of Colorado.' In a 2017 essay published in Out magazine, Gibson remembered coming out at age 20 while studying creative writing at Saint Joseph's College of Maine, a Catholic school. Identifying as genderqueer, Gibson wrote that they didn't feel like a boy or a girl and cited a line of their poetry: 'I am happiest on the road/ When I'm not here or there — but in-between.' Comedian Tig Notaro, an executive producer on the documentary and Gibson's friend of 25 years, shared on Instagram how the two came up together as performers in Colorado. Hearing Gibson perform for the first time was like witnessing the 'pure essence of an old-school genuine rock star,' and their words have guided Notaro through life ever since, she said. 'The final past few days of Andrea's life were so painful to witness, but simultaneously one of the most beautiful experiences of all of our lives,' Notaro said. 'Surrounded by real human connection unfolding in the most unlikely ways during one of the most devastating losses has given me a gift that I will never be able to put into meaningful words.' Gibson's illness inspired many poems about mortality, depression, life and what happens next. In the 2021 poem 'How the Worst Day of My Life Became My Best,' Gibson declared 'When I realized the storm/was inevitable, I made it/my medicine.' Two years later, they wondered: 'Will the afterlife be harder if I remember/the people I love, or forget them?' 'Either way, please let me remember.'
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Andrea Gibson, spoken-word artist who poignantly wrote about gender and a terminal diagnosis, dies at 49
Advertisement Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Their wife, Megan Falley, Since being diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer in 2021, some of Andrea's work focused on how accepting mortality enriches life. 'The funniest thing through this time is that folks will interact with me as if I'm going through something that they're not going through,' really want people to know that they are.' Advertisement Andrea said that in facing death, 'you tap into the brevity of something and all of a sudden everything becomes more special,' and added that 'there is so much more time in a moment than there is in a decade.' 'Andrea was truly a rock star poet,' comedian and writer Tig Notaro, a longtime friend who is an executive producer on the documentary, The current poet laureate of Colorado, Andrea published several books, 'Renowned for thought-provoking poetry, advocacy for arts in education, and a unique ability to connect with the vast and diverse poetry lovers of Colorado, Andrea was truly one of a kind and will be deeply missed,' Advertisement In a 2017 essay for Out magazine, Andrea wrote about having struggled with the language of identity. 'For a while I reluctantly claimed bisexual . Then gay . Some years later I was proudly calling myself a dyke," they wrote. 'But when queer found its way to me I threw myself a pride parade, and when I learned the word genderqueer it felt like hearing someone say my name right for the first time in my life.' Born in 1975, 'I was from Calais, Maine/spelled like Calais, France/said like the rough patches on all the millworkers' hands,' Andrea wrote in 'How I Became a Poet.' Basketball success led to attending St. Joseph's College in Standish, Maine. 'The first time I came out I was 20 years old, studying creative writing at a very Catholic college,' Andrea wrote in the Out essay. 'When I say very I mean many of my teachers were monks and nuns and I was playing college basketball for — no joke — The Lady Monks.' The college went on to make 'some huge strides,' wrote Andrea, who was invited back to the campus a few months after the 2016 shootings at the Pulse LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Fla., 'to share all of my queerest poems with students and staff — monks and nuns included.' Advertisement Andrea's unflinching poetry addressed rape, the mistreatment of children, and numerous flashpoint issues. 'It's a political art form. You're trying to write to change minds and hearts,' Nevertheless, 'I remind myself of that night whenever the political climate of our world is breaking my heart,' Andrea wrote in Out of returning to read at St. Joseph's. 'It's important to notice when things change for the better. It's crucial to our spirits, imperative to the longevity of our activism, and is essential in our own becoming. I never want to stop becoming.' In one poem Andrea wrote: 'A difficult life is not less/worth living than a gentle one./Joy is simply easier to carry/than sorrow.' Moving to Colorado in the late 1990s, Andrea was immediately notable in what Notaro described as the state's community of activists, artists, and comedians. Seeing Andrea perform one night, 'I witnessed the pure essence of an old-school GENUINE rock star,' Notaro wrote on Instagram. 'I couldn't believe the roller coaster of emotion,' Notaro wrote. 'When Andrea stepped on stage, everyone stepped onto that ride with an audience of strangers, holding onto each other for dear life, each person taken aback by their own deep sobs of reflective tears, and then immediately into deep healing laughter.' According to Andrea's Instagram account, they died at 4:16 a.m. Monday 'surrounded by their wife, Meg, four ex-girlfriends, In addition to Andrea's wife and parents, survivors include a sister, Laura, whom Andrea wrote and spoke about. A complete list of survivors and plans for memorial gatherings were not immediately available. Advertisement My love, I was so wrong. Dying is the opposite of leaving. When I left my body, I did not go away. That portal of light was not a portal to elsewhere, but a portal to here. I am more here than I ever was before. I am more with you than I ever could have imagined. 'I think that the artist's primary job is to tell the truth, but I think that there is an additional job, which is to create hope, to inspire awe,' Andrea said in the April 2024 video. 'I think the poet's job is to remind us that we were born astonished. I have since learned that we are never, ever supposed to grow out of that.' Bryan Marquard can be reached at
New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Andrea Gibson, a Poet of Love, Hope and Gender Identity, Dies at 49
Andrea Gibson, a master of spoken-word poetry who cultivated legions of admirers with intensely personal, often political works exploring gender, love and a personal four-year fight with terminal ovarian cancer, died on Monday in Longmont, Colo. Gibson, who used the pronouns they and them and did not use an honorific, was 49. Megan Falley, their wife, confirmed the death. Gibson was among the leading voices in a resurgence of spoken-word, or slam, poetry in the mid-2000s, centered in cafes and on college campuses around the country. They were prolific, publishing seven books, mostly poetry, along with seven albums, all while touring tirelessly. In 2023, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado named Gibson the state's poet laureate. Gibson performed shows as long as 90 minutes, even with chronic stage fright — a condition addressed in the poem 'Ode to the Public Panic Attack,' a work that typified Gibson's sardonic yet vulnerably honest approach. The poem, addressed to a panic attack, begins: You find me at the coffee shop, at the movies, buying comfort food in the grocery store. Then, after a long list of the many other banal situations in which the panic finds Gibson, the poem concludes: To step towards the terror. Its promised jaw. To scrape your boots on the welcome mat. To tell yourself fear Is the seat of fearlessness. Even when you're falling through the ice that is never Been weakness. That is the bravest thing I have ever done in my life. Earlier this year, Gibson appeared in the documentary 'Come See Me in the Good Light,' directed by Ryan White, which focused on Gibson and Ms. Falley during Gibson's long struggle with cancer. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and won the Festival Favorite Award. Gibson's poems were always emotionally freighted, whether they were fiercely political statements or achingly painful odes to lost love that left audiences in tears. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CTV News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Poet Andrea Gibson, candid explorer of life, death and identity, dies at 49
Poet Andrea Gibson, one of the subjects of the documentary film "Come See Me in the Good Light," poses at the premiere of the film during the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 25, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) Andrea Gibson, a celebrated poet and performance artist who through their verse explored gender identity, politics and their four-year battle with terminal ovarian cancer, died Monday at age 49. Gibson's death was announced on social media by their wife, Megan Falley. Gibson and Falley are the main subjects of the documentary 'Come See Me in the Good Light,' winner of the Festival Favorite Award this year at the Sundance Film Festival and scheduled to air this fall on Apple TV+. 'Andrea Gibson died in their home (in Boulder, Colorado) surrounded by their wife, Meg, four ex-girlfriends, their mother and father, dozens of friends, and their three beloved dogs,' Monday's announcement reads in part. The film — exploring the couple's enduring love as Gibson battles cancer — is directed by Ryan White and includes an original song written by Gibson, Sara Bareilles and Brandi Carlile. During a screening at Sundance in January that left much of the audience in tears, Gibson said they didn't expect to live long enough to see the documentary. Tributes poured in Monday from friends, fans and fellow poets who said Gibson's words had changed their lives — and, in some cases, saved them. Many 2SLGBTQ+ fans said Gibson's poetry helped them learn to love themselves. People with cancer and other terminal illnesses said Gibson made them less afraid of death by reminding them that we never really leave the ones we love. In a poem Gibson wrote shortly before they died, titled 'Love Letter from the Afterlife,' they wrote: 'Dying is the opposite of leaving. When I left my body, I did not go away. That portal of light was not a portal to elsewhere, but a portal to here. I am more here than I ever was before.' Linda Williams Stay was 'awestruck' when her son, Aiden, took her to hear Gibson perform at a bar in San Francisco a decade ago. Their poetry was electrifying, lighting up the room with laughter, tears and love. Gibson's poetry became a shared interest for the mother and son, and eventually helped Stay better understand her son when he came out as transgender. 'My son this morning, when he called, we just sobbed together,' Stay said. 'He says, 'Mom, Andrea saved my life.'' 'I know,' she responded. Gibson's poetry later helped Stay cope with a cancer diagnosis of her own, which brought her son back home to St. George, Utah, to help take care of her. They were delighted when Gibson accepted their invitation to perform at an event celebrating the 2SLGBTQ+ community in southern Utah. 'It was truly life-changing for our community down there, and even for our allies,' Stay said. 'I hope that they got a glimpse of the magnitude of their impact for queer kids in small communities that they gave so much hope to.' Gibson was born in Maine and moved to Colorado in the late 1990s, where they had served the past two years as the state's poet laureate. Their books included 'You Better Be Lightning,' 'Take Me With You' and 'Lord of the Butterflies.' Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Monday that Gibson was 'truly one of a kind' and had 'a unique ability to connect with the vast and diverse poetry lovers of Colorado.' In a 2017 essay published in Out magazine, Gibson remembered coming out at age 20 while studying creative writing at Saint Joseph's College of Maine, a Catholic school. Identifying as genderqueer, Gibson wrote that they didn't feel like a boy or a girl and cited a line of their poetry: 'I am happiest on the road/ When I'm not here or there — but in-between.' Comedian Tig Notaro, an executive producer on the documentary and Gibson's friend of 25 years, shared on Instagram how the two came up together as performers in Colorado. Hearing Gibson perform for the first time was like witnessing the 'pure essence of an old-school genuine rock star,' and their words have guided Notaro through life ever since, she said. 'The final past few days of Andrea's life were so painful to witness, but simultaneously one of the most beautiful experiences of all of our lives,' Notaro said. 'Surrounded by real human connection unfolding in the most unlikely ways during one of the most devastating losses has given me a gift that I will never be able to put into meaningful words.' Gibson's illness inspired many poems about mortality, depression, life and what happens next. In the 2021 poem 'How the Worst Day of My Life Became My Best,' Gibson declared 'When I realized the storm/was inevitable, I made it/my medicine.' Two years later, they wondered: 'Will the afterlife be harder if I remember/the people I love, or forget them?' 'Either way, please let me remember.' Hannah Schoenbaum And Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
CBC
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Andrea Gibson, queer poet whose work unflinchingly probed life and mortality, dead at 49
Andrea Gibson, a celebrated poet and performance artist who through their verse explored gender identity, politics and their experience with terminal ovarian cancer, died Monday at age 49. Gibson's death was announced on social media by their wife, Megan Falley. Gibson and Falley are the main subjects of the documentary Come See Me in the Good Light, winner of the Festival Favourite Award this year at the Sundance Film Festival and scheduled to air this fall on Apple TV+. "Andrea Gibson died in their home [in Boulder, Colo.] surrounded by their wife, Meg, four ex-girlfriends, their mother and father, dozens of friends, and their three beloved dogs," Monday's announcement reads in part. The film — exploring the couple's enduring love as Gibson endures cancer — is directed by Ryan White and includes an original song written by Gibson, Sara Bareilles and Brandi Carlile. During a screening at Sundance in January that left much of the audience in tears, Gibson said they didn't expect to live long enough to see the documentary. Tributes poured in Monday from friends, fans and fellow poets who said Gibson's words had changed their lives — and, in some cases, saved them. Many LGBTQ+ fans said Gibson's poetry helped them learn to love themselves. People with cancer and other terminal illnesses said Gibson made them less afraid of death by reminding them that we never really leave the ones we love. In a poem Gibson wrote shortly before they died, titled Love Letter from the Afterlife, they wrote: "Dying is the opposite of leaving. When I left my body, I did not go away. That portal of light was not a portal to elsewhere, but a portal to here. I am more here than I ever was before." Linda Williams Stay was "awestruck" when her son, Aiden, took her to hear Gibson perform at a bar in San Francisco a decade ago. Their poetry was electrifying, lighting up the room with laughter, tears and love. Gibson's poetry became a shared interest for the mother and son, and eventually helped Stay better understand her son when he came out as transgender. "My son this morning, when he called, we just sobbed together," Stay said. "He says, `Mom, Andrea saved my life.'" "I know," she responded. 'Life-changing' impact Gibson's poetry later helped Stay cope with a cancer diagnosis of her own, which brought her son back home to St. George, Utah, to help take care of her. They were delighted when Gibson accepted their invitation to perform at an event celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in southern Utah. "It was truly life-changing for our community down there, and even for our allies," Stay said. "I hope that they got a glimpse of the magnitude of their impact for queer kids in small communities that they gave so much hope to." Gibson was born in Maine and moved to Colorado in the late 1990s, where they had served the past two years as the state's poet laureate. Their books included You Better Be Lightning, Take Me With You and Lord of the Butterflies. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Monday that Gibson was "truly one of a kind" and had "a unique ability to connect with the vast and diverse poetry lovers of Colorado." In a 2017 essay published in Out magazine, Gibson remembered coming out at age 20 while studying creative writing at Saint Joseph's College of Maine, a Catholic school. Identifying as genderqueer, Gibson wrote that they didn't feel like a boy or a girl and cited a line of their poetry: "I am happiest on the road/ When I'm not here or there — but in-between." Comedian Tig Notaro, an executive producer on the documentary and Gibson's friend of 25 years, shared on Instagram how the two came up together as performers in Colorado. Hearing Gibson perform for the first time was like witnessing the "pure essence of an old-school genuine rock star," and their words have guided Notaro through life ever since, she said. "The final past few days of Andrea's life were so painful to witness, but simultaneously one of the most beautiful experiences of all of our lives," Notaro said. "Surrounded by real human connection unfolding in the most unlikely ways during one of the most devastating losses has given me a gift that I will never be able to put into meaningful words." Gibson's illness inspired many poems about mortality, depression, life and what happens next. In the 2021 poem How the Worst Day of My Life Became My Best,
