Biography

John Giorno was an influential American poet and performance artist, born on December 4, 1936, and passing on October 11, 2019. A prominent figure in the New York avant-garde scene, Giorno expanded the boundaries of poetry by integrating sound, performance, and multimedia elements into his work. He founded Giorno Poetry Systems in 1965, a nonprofit organization that sought to promote poetry through innovative media. One of his notable projects was Dial-A-Poem, launched in 1969, which used telephone technology to bring contemporary poetry to a wider audience. Giorno was closely associated with key figures in the art world, including Andy Warhol, with whom he had a personal and professional relationship. He appeared in Warhol's experimental film 'Sleep' in 1964. His poetry was influenced by Pop art and the cut-up techniques of his contemporaries, evolving into a unique style marked by repetition and spoken-word performance. A practicing Tibetan Buddhist, Giorno infused his work with Buddhist philosophy, and in 1984, he established the AIDS Treatment Project to support those living with AIDS. His contributions to performance poetry and multimedia art have left a lasting impact, making his work highly regarded and collected internationally.