Readers and fans of Andrea Gibson’s work offered an outpouring of love, grief and touching tributes Monday about how the poet’s words found them at just the right time.

Andrea Gibson, acclaimed poet and performance artist, died on July 14 at age 49, following a diagnosis with ovarian cancer. The Poet Laureate of Colorado published seven poetry collections, and was the subject of the 2025 documentary ‘Come See Me in the Good Light.

A master of spoken-word performance, Gibson insisted that poetry, especially when read aloud to an audience, was a political act.