Lydialyle Gibson

Lydialyle Gibson has been an associate editor at Harvard Magazine since 2015. She edits the Montage profiles, about alumni in the arts, and writes about a variety of topics, including arts and medicine—especially where the two intersect, as in her features about Harvard physician-writers Rafael Campo and Stuart Harris. In the January-February 2025 issue, she wrote “Caring for the Caregivers,” about the experiences of people caring for loved ones with dementia—read her Behind the Scenes about that story. She also covers politics and history, with a special emphasis on African American history, and since 2022 has reported on the Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative. Before coming to Harvard, she was an editor and writer at the University of Chicago Magazine. Her writing has won numerous awards, including several national awards from CASE. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master’s in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University.

Picketers holding signs march outside the Smith Campus Center, advocating for labor rights.

University News |

Harvard Graduate Student Workers Strike

Union demands higher pay, protections for non-citizen members, and changes to the harassment complaint process.

A smiling judge wearing a black robe, seated in a wood-paneled courtroom.

Harvard Graduate School of Education |

At Harvard Talk, Retired Supreme Court Justice Breyer Defends Shadow Docket

The current law professor also spoke about affirmative action, partisanship, and the limits of “bright-line rules.”

Woman with long hair, smiling, wearing a black sweater, in a textured beige background.

Arts & Culture |

For This Poet, AI is a Writing Partner

Sasha Stiles trained a chatbot on her manuscripts. Now, her poems rewrite themselves.

A woman in glasses gestures while speaking to two attentive listeners at a table.

Arts & Culture |

How to Cook with Wild Plants

From wild greens spanakopita to rose petal panna cotta, forager and chef Ellen Zachos makes one-of-a-kind meals.

Brick archway with a sandy base, surrounded by wooden planks and boxes in a dim space.

Harvard Celebrates America’s 250th |

How the American Revolution Freed a Future Abolitionist

Darby Vassall, an enslaved child freed after the Battle of Bunker Hill, dedicated his life to fighting for liberty.

Mercy Otis Warren in period attire writes at a desk by candlelight, surrounded by books.

Harvard Celebrates America’s 250th |

The Woman Who Penned the Case for War

Mercy Otis Warren’s poetry and plays incited the Patriot movement.

Bronze statues of three historical figures under a stylized tree in a softly lit space.

Harvard Celebrates America’s 250th |

The Costly Choice Native Americans Faced

How the Revolution reshaped indigenous New England

Three speech bubbles with lettered choices on a red background with numbers.

University News |

Faculty Postpone Vote on Grade Inflation Reforms

A decision on an amended proposal to cap A’s will likely come at next month’s meeting.

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Politics and Law |

Pete Buttigieg Calls For a Politics of ‘Belonging’

A Kennedy School panel discusses polarization and the uncertain future of American democracy.

A speaker gestures while presenting at a podium with Harvard Radcliffe Institute branding.

Politics and Law |

Ken Burns on America’s Unfinished Revolution

At Radcliffe, the filmmaker joined Harvard historians to discuss what the nation’s founding means today.

A person examining handwritten notes and papers on a table.

Museums & Collections |

Radcliffe Acquires a Black Feminist’s Archive

An architect of Black women’s studies, Barbara Smith introduced the concepts of “identity politics” and “intersectionality.”

Statue of a historical figure, against a colorful, stylized letter background.

University News |

Harvard Faculty Debate Plan to Cap A Grades

At a lively meeting, faculty members weighed a grade inflation plan that most agreed is imperfect.