Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns

Speaker: Andrea Gibson

The speaker for a majority of the poems is the author, Andrea Gibson. Almost all of the poems in this collection come from her own personal experiences. She spoke of the struggles she faces. She clearly used this book as a way to inspire and make a change in society.This was her first published book, and she used it as a chance to introduce herself to the average reader. All but three of the poems in this collection are written in the first person. Her voice is clearly heard throughout her writing and, is often a voice of reason for others. The whole book is from her perspective. Andrea Gibson is a lesbian social rights activist, what affects her affects her work.

 

Characters:

Depending on the poem Heather was "she" or "you"

     Heather was Andrea's girlfriend at the time. Anytime she spoke and used the pronoun she or you (depending on the poem) was directed at her. Heather played a huge role in Gibson's life. Gibson and Heather were a couple statement in the community (similar to today's Brad and Angelina). Everyone loved them, they were a real power couple, everything they did made each other better(until their break up in 2012). The poems Andrea wrote about Heather were beautiful and made a statement about what love should look like. They filled each other's pain with pleasure, gave the cold a little sun, they were the whipped cream to the other's cherry. Their love and relationship were a huge focal point within Gibson's poems in Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns.

 

Eli (For Eli )

Eli, 24,  was a soldier returning home from the war in Iraq, he has a tattoo of a teddy bear and, the war changed him. It was never stated but from the description, he appeared to have PTSD. He said his teddy bear tattoo was going to die. Gibson says he may never write another poem. Eli was clearly brought over too young and was emotionally scarred. By the look of the poem, he doesn't get much better. Because as the poem progresses the situation gets worse. 

 

Jesse (See Through)

Jesse is a five-year-old who asks questions we can not give her a legitimate answer to because whatever she is told she will believe. Because she is so young, she has yet to be exposed to some of the harsh realities of the world. She asks the question "What does hatred mean?" Leaving Andrea to figure out what to do. She can't tell her the truth because she has never been exposed to things like this. She truly resembles purity and innocence, with her naivety.