Poet Laureate Feature Andrea Gibson’s Poems and Influence: Necessary Messages From a New Perspective It’s hard to believe that the stunning cover of Colorado Poet Laureate Andrea (they/them) Gibson’s latest is somehow the least remarkable thing about You Better Be Lightning. The author of six full-length poetry collections, they’ve also won the Independent Publishers Awards twice, was a three-time finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards and won the first-ever Women’s World Poetry Slam. Gibson also performed with Vox Feminista, a “performance tribe of radical feminists bent on social change through cultural revolution,” for more than two decades and they are involved with many activist groups. As credentials go, Andrea Gibson is definitely the Real Deal. Andrea Gibson’s poems focuses on topics that may be “new issues” to some, but will all feel familiar and universal to the LGBTQIA+ community at large: gender norms, politics, social reform, and LGBTQ rights. Gibson approaches every topic in such a thoughtful way, turning words and phrases in ways that shape their message. Reviewers and critics consistently use words like “tenderness” when describing Gibson’s work. And if you watch a video clip on YouTube or are lucky enough to see them perform live, you’ll see