About John Giorno
John Giorno (December 4, 1936 – October 11, 2019) was an American poet, performance artist, multimedia artist, and activist. A leading figure in the New York avant-garde, he was known for expanding the possibilities of poetry through sound, performance, recordings, telecommunications, and visual art. In 1965, he founded Giorno Poetry Systems, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting poetry through innovative media, and in 1969 launched Dial-A-Poem, a telephone-based poetry project that brought contemporary poetry to a mass audience. Giorno was associated with artists and writers including Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Brion Gysin. He was Warhol's lover and appeared in the artist's early experimental films, including Sleep (1964). His own work evolved from found-text poetry influenced by Pop art and cut-up techniques into a distinctive style characterized by repetition and spoken-word performance. A practicing Tibetan Buddhist for nearly five decades, Giorno integrated Buddhist philosophy into his poetry and artistic practice. In 1984, he founded the AIDS Treatment Project through Giorno Poetry Systems to provide direct financial assistance to people living with AIDS. His work has been exhibited internationally and is regarded as influential in the development of performance poetry and multimedia art. He founded the not-for-profit production company Giorno Poetry Systems and organized a number of early multimedia poetry experiments and events. As a committed AIDS activist, he founded the AIDS Treatment Project in 1984, providing vital support to those affected by the epidemic. Giorno's creative journey was marked by collaborations, groundbreaking initiatives, and a deep exploration of diverse art forms.
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