Andrea Gibson dead: Celebrated poet whose work explored gender identity passes away

A celebrated poet whose work explored gender identity and sexuality has died at just 49.

Andrea Gibson's verse also told of their journey with ovarian cancer which they had battled for four years. The star lost their fight with the disease on Monday and died in their home, in Boulder, Colorado, surrounded by their wife Megan Falley, four ex-girlfriends, their mother and father, dozens of friends, and their three beloved dogs.

The performance artist, a LGBTQ and social justice activist, is with Megan the the subject of documentary Come See Me in the Good Light, scheduled to air on Apple+ later this year. It has already won the Festival Favorite Award this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

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.

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But Gibson, born in Calais, Maine, was determined to continue activism despite their cancer journey. The star released a series of poems in You Better Be Lightning in their latter years, for which Gibson's trademark honesty and vulnerability was praised by critics. These poems candidly explored love, illness, space, climate change and more topics.

And 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."

Their optimism and philosophical outlook on life is remembered today. Tributes have poured in for the performer, as many LGBTQ+ fans have 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.

One fan said Gibson "saved" them. Aiden Williams Stay saw Gibson perform in a bar in San Francisco, a moment they said they will never forget. Stay later found the courage to come out as transgender.

Gibson moved to Colorado in the 1990s. Colorado Governor Jared Polis said on Monday that the poet 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."