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For The Wild

ANDREA GIBSON on The Blessings of the Wound /347

For The Wild

For The Wild

Philosophy, Society & Culture, For The Wild, Anthropocene, Story Telling, Religion & Spirituality, Decolonization, Progressive, Liberation, Land, Media

4.81.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In an episode that cuts straight to the soul, this week’s guest Andrea Gibson joins Ayana in a conversation that asks what it means to truly live. Andrea contemplates the ways we cope with loneliness and 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.


Andrea’s openness about their diagnosis and emotional journey, brings depth and emotion to the conversation. 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?


Andrea Gibson 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 has gone on to be awarded the LGBTQ Out100 and has been featured on BBC, NPR and CSpan. Gibson is the author of seven award winning books and seven full length albums. Their live shows have become loving and supportive ecosystems for audiences to feel seen, heard, and held through Gibson’s art.


Music by John Carrol Kirby (generously provided by Patience Records), Kesia Negata, and Katie Gray. Visit our website at forthewild.world for the full episode description, references, and action points.



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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:05.3

Our Patreon offers listener's exclusive archival content, extended episodes, and access to

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and special for the wild projects like our zines and slow study courses. To support us on Patreon,

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please visit patreon.com slash for the wild, or if you would rather make a one-time donation or

0:40.0

recurring donation outside of Patreon, please visit for the wild dot world slash donate.

0:50.1

Hello and welcome to for the wild podcast. I'm Ayanna Jan.

0:54.3

Today we are speaking with Andrea Fe Gibson. We are largely out of control and I think that we

1:03.5

think we will gain happiness and gain a sense of power over our own lives if we try to control things

1:11.5

in every moment. And it's really liberating to understand that we are largely out of control.

1:20.6

In that way, to try to then sort of catch the wave of the universe.

1:27.5

And that for me has been this experience of coming into my own power is understanding the power of

1:33.7

creation, the divinity of creation, the wonder and mystery of it all, and sort of just going with it.

1:43.0

And that was I'm sitting here, you know, really confronting my mortality and thinking

1:48.7

everything that I've ever lost, I've gained something greater because of that loss.

1:54.8

I could see how these things made me and opened me continuously opened me.

2:06.7

Andrea Fe Gibson is one of the most celebrated and influential spoken word poets of our time.

2:12.7

Best known for their live performances, Gibson has changed the landscape of what it means to attend

2:18.6

a poetry show altogether. To hear Gibson is like hearing songwriters play their music,

2:24.4

their trademark honesty and vulnerability are on full display. Gibson's poem center around LGBTQ

...

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