BOULDER, Colo., July 15, 2025 (AP) — Andrea Gibson, a celebrated poet and performance artist known for exploring gender identity, politics, and their four-year battle with terminal ovarian cancer, died Monday. They were 49.
A voice silenced, but impact lingers
Gibson’s powerful verse touched many, offering solace and self-acceptance, especially within the LGBTQ+ community.
Gibson’s death was announced by their wife, Megan Falley. The couple is central to the documentary *Come See Me in the Good Light*, which won the Festival Favorite Award at the Sundance Film Festival this year and is slated to air on Apple TV+ this fall.
“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 read in part.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Brandon Somerhalder
The film, directed by Ryan White, chronicles the couple’s enduring love amidst Gibson’s cancer battle. It features an original song co-written by Gibson, Sara Bareilles, and Brandi Carlile. Gibson had previously shared at a Sundance screening in January that they didn’t anticipate living to see the documentary’s release, a sentiment that moved many in the audience.
Tributes flooded social media Monday, with friends, fans, and fellow poets recounting how Gibson’s words transformed their lives, some even crediting them with saving their lives. Many LGBTQ+ individuals shared that Gibson’s poetry was instrumental in their journey toward self-love. Those facing cancer and other terminal illnesses found comfort in Gibson’s reminder that love transcends physical presence, lessening their fear of death.
In a poem penned shortly before their passing, titled “Love Letter from the Afterlife,” Gibson 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 recalled being “awestruck” when her son, Aiden, brought her to hear Gibson perform in San Francisco a decade ago. She described the performance as electrifying, filling the room with joy and emotion. Gibson’s poetry became a shared passion for mother and son, aiding Stay in understanding her son after 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 work also helped Stay cope with her own cancer diagnosis, which led her son to return to their home in St. George, Utah, to assist with her care. They were thrilled when Gibson agreed 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 recalled. “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.”
Born in Maine, Gibson moved to Colorado in the late 1990s. They served as Colorado’s poet laureate for the past two years. Their published works include *You Better Be Lightning*, *Take Me With You*, and *Lord of the Butterflies*.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis stated Monday that Gibson was “truly one of a kind” and possessed “a unique ability to connect with the vast and diverse poetry lovers of Colorado.”
In a 2017 essay, Gibson reflected on coming out at age 20 while studying creative writing at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. Identifying as genderqueer, Gibson wrote about not feeling like a boy or a girl, quoting their own poetry: “I am happiest on the road/ When I’m not here or there — but in-between.”
Comedian Tig Notaro, a friend of Gibson’s for 25 years and an executive producer on the documentary, shared on Instagram how they both emerged as performers in Colorado. Notaro described hearing Gibson perform for the first time as witnessing the “pure essence of an old-school genuine rock star” and noted that Gibson’s words have guided her through life.
“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 numerous poems on themes of mortality, depression, life, and the unknown. In their 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 pondered, “Will the afterlife be harder if I remember/the people I love, or forget them?”
“Either way, please let me remember.”
