Andrea Gibson is an artist I often share to those asking for new influences for their ears, which I often provide with a warning label that her style is not for those who can’t stand the truth. Andrea describes her style perfectly in her interview with the Colorado Springs Independent as “comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable”.
Andrea speaks on issues from LGBTQ issues, to politics, and everything in between including white privilege, war, and bullying, in a way that moves the soul. I was first hooked on Andrea Gibson when I heard her poem Wasabi, which led me to listening to further works of hers including For Eli and Blue Blanket; both poems of which moved me in a way I could not begin to explain.
Andrea’s raw truths come out in her poems with little sugar coating, for example when speaking on the war in ‘For Eli’, Andrea states, “fuck your yellow ribbons; you want to support our troops? Then bring them home, and hold them tight when they get here”, and this is only one small passionate statement she has to make.
http://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/andrea-gibson-on-stage-fright-writing-and-disturbing-the-comfortable/Content?oid=2863361 Andrea discusses the topic of stage fright in this article and her personal way of dealing with it by dancing, specifically to 80’s music, ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ being one of her favorites.
http://www.autostraddle.com/andrea-gibson-the-autostraddle-interview-170378/ Andrea gives an authentic interview in this article, speaking on what motivates her, her activism, and life in general. When asked what inspired her to write, she states, “Anything that makes my heart race I write about. Anything that makes my stomach hurt. Anything that keeps me awake at night. Anything that makes me want to stay in bed for a week. Anything that makes we wish I could play a musical instrument. Anything that makes me want to move to Canada.”