Award-winning poet and LGBTQ rights activist Andrea Gibson is coming to Brighton. A true master of the spoken word, Gibson’s poetry deserves to be heard out loud and it’s no wonder they were the first ever winner of the Women Of The World Poetry Slam back in 2008. With a back catalogue of books and albums and a career spanning nearly twenty years, Gibson has a way with words that draws you in and takes you on a journey through the topics of love, sexuality, gender identity and politics.

Gibson’s latest album ‘Hey Galaxy’, released early this year, is a faultless collection of works that touch on some difficult subjects. ‘Orlando’ is a heart-wrenching and vivid account of what happened at Pulse nightclub, when the world was shocked by news that “an assault rifle had fired 202 bullets through a gay bar on Latin night in one of the worst massacres in US history”.

The beautiful poem ‘Your Life’ contains the quotable statement “your pronouns haven’t even been invented yet,” powerfully delivered to the accompaniment of music which serves to emphasise every heartbeat and rhythm of the words.

“Your life every time, airport security screams ‘pink or blue, pink or blue’ / Trying to figure out what machine setting to run you through.” These lyrics speak transparently of Gibson’s feelings of gender identity that will resonate with many.

Komedia, Monday 4th June 2018