ANDREA GIBSON on the Blessings of the Wound [HOMAGE] /370
Engraved image by William Baxter Closson (Night Moths) depicting an eclipse of moths aflight in the night. Public Domain.
This week, we are rebroadcasting our extended conversation with Andrea Gibson as we honor their death on July 14th, 2025. The conversation, originally aired in September of 2023, was entitled “The Blessings of the Wound.” For so many of us who have been touched by Andrea’s work, their death is a deep wound, one that will stretch and expand our hearts in accordance with its depth.
In the episode, Andrea contemplates the deeply rooted societal fears of disconnection and of death. Facing fear, confusion, and loss head on, Andrea reminds us that healing is a return to the self, a return to community.
Through poem and spirituality, Andrea draws us to see the beauty in being alive in this particular life, in our particular bodies, at this particular time. Their presence and attention is life-giving. As Andrea shares their journey connecting to the eternal, genderless “We,” they invite listeners to contemplate their identities beyond this life alone. As we let the need to know fall away, what miracles might reveal themselves to us?
While you listen to this episode, we invite you to consider their words in the poem “Love Letter from the Afterlife.” Andrea writes, “ I know that to be human is to be farsighted. But feel me now, walking the chambers of your heart, pressing my palms to the soft walls of your living. Why did no one tell us that to die is to be reincarnated in those we love while they are still alive?”
As tribute to Andrea, we will be offering a free download of For The Wild’s zine, Grief, in our Friday, July 24th newsletter. The digital zine includes practice, ritual, and an extended reading of Andrea’s conversation with For The Wild. Sign up for the newsletter >
“Death itself is the seed that blooms a beautiful life.”
Photo of Andrea Gibson
Andrea Gibson (August 13, 1975 – July 14, 2025) is one of the most celebrated and influential spoken word poets of our time. Best known for their live performances, Gibson has changed the landscape of what it means to attend a “poetry show” altogether. To hear Gibson is like hearing songwriters play their music, their trademark honesty and vulnerability are on full display. Gibson’s poems center around LGBTQ issues, gender, feminism, mental health and the dismantling of oppressive social systems. The winner of the first Women’s World Poetry Slam, Gibson went on to be awarded the LGBTQ Out100 and has been featured on BBC, NPR and CSpan. Gibson was the author of seven award winning books and seven full length albums. Their live shows were loving and supportive ecosystems for audiences to feel seen, heard, and held through Gibson’s art.
Credits
♫ The music in this episode is “The World Survives” by Katie Gray, “Cascata Di Malbacco” by John Carrol Kirby (generously provided by Patience Records), and “We’re All going To Die (In Paris)” by Kesia Negata.
This episode was created by Ayana Young, Erica Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and José Alejandro Rivera with special thanks to Victoria Pham for the July 22, 2025 version
Cover art by William Baxter Closson, titled "Night Moths"
Episode References
Announcement from Andrea’s family on Instagram
“The Uses Of Sorrow by Mary Oliver
”We Can Do Hard Things” Ep 215 by Momastery
”Our Angel of the Get Through”: An Interview with Andrea Gibson
”Your Life” video by Andrea Gibson
”In Conversation with Andrea Gibson” by Rough Cut Press
CHRISTIAN SCHWARZ on the Sublime World of Fungi /158 by For The Wild
Reading Recommendations
You Better Be Lightning (2021) by Andrea Gibson
“Things That Don't Suck” on Andrea Gibson’s Substack
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For The Wild is a slow media organization dedicated to land-based protection, co-liberation, and intersectional storytelling. We are rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth, and consumerism. As we dream towards a world of grounded justice and reciprocity, our work highlights impactful stories and deeply-felt meaning making as balms for these times.