Popular in queer communities, anti-war organizations, college campuses and women/gender studies programs, Andrea Gibson's second book of poems, The Madness Vase's topics range from hate crimes to playgrounds, from international conflict to hometowns, from falling in love to the desperation of loneliness.
"If spoken word were professional boxing Andrea Gibson would be the light weight you don't think much of until [they] knock you flat on your ass."—The Denver Westword
Gibson's work seizes us by the collar and hauls us inside some of their darkest moments, then releases out the other side. Moments later, we find ourselves inhaling words that fill us with light. Their luminous imagery is a buoy that allows us to resurface from their world clutching new possibilities of our own, and linger in our psyches and entreat us to action. They challenge us to grow into our own skin.
By the time you finish reading The Madness Vase, you too will believe, "Folks like us/We've got shoulder blades that rust in the rain/But they are still G-sharp/Whenever our spinal chords are tuned to the key of redemption/So go ahead world/Pick us/To make things better."
ISBN-13: 9781935904373
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Write Bloody Publishing
Publication Date: 09-15-2011
Pages: 100
Product Dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Andrea Gibson is not gentle with their truths. A powerful live performer Gibson is the winner of the 2008 Women's World Poetry Slam, and has placed 3rd in world on two International Poetry Slam stages. Andrea's first book, Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns won the DIY Poetry Book of the Year and was nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize.
Gibson has been showcased on Free Speech TV, BBC, Air America, CSPAN, NPR, and was featured in the documentary Slam Planet. Gibson has released four full-length albums and tours over 180 dates/year.
Read an Excerpt
“..when a war ends, what does that look like exactly?
do the cells in the body stop detonating themselves?
does the orphanage stop screaming for its mother?
when the sand in the desert has been melted down to glass
and our reflection is not something we can stand to look at
does the white flag make for a perfect blindfold?
yesterday i was told a story
about this little girl in Iraq, six-years-old,
who cannot fall asleep
because when she does
she dreams of nothing
but the day she watched her dog
eat her neighbor's corpse.
if you told her war is over
do you think she can sleep?”
―Andrea Gibson, The Madness Vase
