“How I Became a Poet” dwells for nearly five minutes on Gibson’s youth — “the tiniest kid in my class/hair cut so strange I looked like a third-grade boy/who gets picked on by his first-grade brother....

Andrea Gibson, a celebrated poet and performance artist who through their verse explored gender identity, politics and their battle with terminal cancer, died Monday at age 49.

In 2023, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis named Gibson the state's ninth poet laureate, a two year post intended to promote an appreciation of poetry, according to a release.