Andrea Gibson: Facing Mortality and Being Adored and Cherished by the Universe [ENCORE]
Sounds True: Insights at the Edge
Tami Simon
4.6 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 25 July 2025
⏱️ 58 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Great poets expand our view—of ourselves, of each other, and of the entire universe. Andrea Gibson was named Colorado’s 2023–25 Poet Laureate for their celebrated verses on love, LGBTQ issues, spirituality, mental health, social justice, and more. Tami Simon speaks with Andrea about their approach to work and how their journey through cancer radically changed that approach.
This poignant conversation featuring Andrea’s reading of their poem, “Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps” and exploring spiritual surrender, finding joy in every instant, facing challenges, moving through grief, the life force of the universe within us, self-love and loving the whole world, trying softer (not harder), the power of relaxation, identifying the keys that open your heart, staying with our fear, activism and loosening our attachment to desired outcomes, being yourself fully, the gift of mortality, giving the present moment the cold shoulder, why authenticity is the most important thing when it comes to writing, the pull of creativity, and more.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Sounds True Podcast Network. |
| 0:04.5 | Hello, friends. |
| 0:06.4 | As you likely know, Andrea Gibson left their physical form on July 14, 2025. |
| 0:13.7 | The interview you're about to hear took place about a year and a half before that in the fall of 2023. |
| 0:24.0 | I greatly admire Andrea, |
| 0:31.6 | mostly for their love of life and their generosity of spirit and their tremendous ability to inspire us to live with such a love and generosity. |
| 0:39.6 | Their goodness lives on. |
| 0:41.6 | I'm deeply grateful, |
| 0:44.8 | Andrea and I had this chance to talk about life, |
| 0:45.4 | art, |
| 0:46.3 | mortality, |
| 0:49.8 | and being true to our original voice, |
| 0:51.3 | and so much more. |
| 0:55.5 | Please enjoy this special interview with Andrea Gibson. |
| 1:10.6 | This conversation has been many moons in the making, and I'm so happy that it's happening now |
| 1:14.9 | as Andrea Gibson has been named the Poet Laureate of the State of Colorado. |
| 1:22.7 | What a joy to be able to have this conversation So soon after that appointment, Andrea is one of the most celebrated and influential spoken |
| 1:35.0 | word poets of our time. |
| 1:38.3 | Best known for their live performances, Andrea has changed the landscape of what it means to attend a poetry show. |
| 1:48.0 | Andrea is a truth teller. |
| 1:52.0 | Their poems center around love. |
| 1:55.0 | LGBTQ issues, spirituality, mental health, and social justice. The winner of the first women's |
... |
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