Poet Andrea Gibson Inspires IWU Audience

Andrea Gibson, nationally and internationally-acclaimed poet and activist, performed Thursday evening for over 100 people in the Hansen Student Center on the Illinois Wesleyan campus.

The event, which included a local open mic poetry session, was organized by Lyrical Graffiti and IWU Pride Alliance.

Gibson’s spoken word performance, alternating between piercing slam poetry and reflective dialogue with the audience, touched upon the damage wrought by patriarchy, the personal horrors of war, the innocence of the young, the intolerance of the bully, and the power of love and truth.

Below the picture taken during Andrea Gibson’s IWU performance, there is a YouTube sampling of Gibson’s riveting poetry from other performances.