Andrea Gibson Releases Bon Iver-Inspired Love Poem

Award-winning poet Andrea Gibson has just released a new poem titled "Radio." The poem, and its accompanying video, were inspired by love and Bon Iver's "Flume." Gibson, who identifies as non-binary, has spent the greater half of their career addressing gender norms, politics, social reform, and the LGBTQ community through their work. So with "Radio" comes a nice change of scenery.

Featuring Gibson in a dreamlike limbo similar to the "in-between" seen in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, the video is an otherworldly display of simple, seemingly trivial acts of love--peeling oranges, trimming fingernails in front of each other, car makeout sessions, and, most importantly, wearing your lover's hoodie.

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"As I was writing 'Radio,' I was listening to Bon Iver's 'Flume' on repeat, and was moved by the line 'only love is all maroon,'" Gibson wrote in an essay for Talkhouse. "I read an interview in which Justin Vernon said he doesn't always know what his own lyrics mean. I love that, but I looked up maroon anyway, and it has three definitions. One is a color. Another is a loud firework. And to be marooned is to be left, trapped and isolated in an inaccessible place, like an island. Throughout my life, love has been all of those to me."

Andrea Gibson began their career in 1999 with a break-up poem at an open mic in Boulder, Colorado. Since then, Gibson has released three collections of poetry while winning the first ever "Woman of the World" Poetry Slam Award. Gibson's upcoming collection HEY GALAXY is due out January 12.

In the meantime, watch the video for "Radio," below, and read Gibson's' full essay, here.