Activist and poet Andrea Gibson performed in the ballroom of Michel Student Center last night. Gibson was invited to campus by Common Ground, the gay-straight student alliance.
“I think they artfully addressed a lot of important issues like the Mike Brown shooting, queer relationships and sexual assault,” Jessica Blanchet, a non-student attendee, said. “I cried the whole time but in the best way possible.”
Gibson’s poetry was also very personal, touching upon their struggle with depression and suicide.
“Their poem ‘The Madness Vase’ is really important to me, and it was just amazing to hear it performed live,” sophomore English major Cori Anderson said. “There have been nights where that poem has saved my life.”
Thursday night was also the first time Gibson performed their poem “Photoshopping My Baby Sister’s Mug Shot,” which dealt with her sister’s history of drug abuse.
“It was really intimidating reading something new, it always is, but it feels better than not saying anything new,” Gibson said.
Gibson said, despite the terror, the stage has always felt like a safe space for them.
“I think everyone creates their safety in different ways,” Gibson said. “I have always felt more safe speaking what is inside me than hiding it.”
Common Ground president Alysen Newton said Common Grounds invited Gibson because it thought Gibson’s own personal journey with gender would inspire many nuanced conversations about gender within the community.
“Four years ago [Gibson was] using the pronouns of ‘she’ and ‘her,’ but their identity has evolved since then,” Newton, a senior English education major, said. “They’re using different pronouns, and they’ve also crafted this other persona named Andrew Gibbie. They have this two-gendered identity, which I think is really interesting and a very important voice to hear.”
Common Ground treasurer Kevin Mikolajczak said he felt Gibson’s poetry “highlighted how gender and sexuality affect everyone every day.”
Mikolajczak, a freshman interactive media major, said poetry’s strong emotional component made it an effective way to engage with complex issues.
“If you look at an article or a report, it’ll just give you the dry facts,” Mikolajczak said. “But if you put those facts into a poem, they have a greater chance of resonating with people and sticking with them.”
