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Vajra Kisses (1972)

John Giorno

John Giorno

Ti­tle of the com­pi­la­ti­on/album: Giorno Poetry Systems - The Dial-A-Poem Poets
Ti­tle: John Giorno:Vajra Kisses (Track 05)
Publisher: Giorno Poetry Systems records, New York
Da­te: 1972
Me­di­um: 2 re­cord 30 cm
Cover: Les Levine

 

The Dial-A-Poem project grew out of John Giorno's artist network Giorno Poetry Systems, founded in 1965, which is said to have been triggered by a telephone conversation between Giorno and William Burroughs. Giorno Poetry Systems brought together artists such as Patty Smith, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass and Robert Rauschenberg, among others, and Giorno's commitment to the dissemination of new, innovative poetry.

In the Dial-A-Poem project, Giorno provided poems by the participating artists on a total of 15 answering machines that could be called and listened to from the worldwide telephone network. The poems dealt in particular with social issues and political criticism, for example, the Vietnam War and sexual repression.

The network justified its choice of the telephone as a medium with the ability to make art available without borders and without interruption and the possibility of circumventing political restrictions in this way. It started in 1969 and quickly became successful. In 1970, the project was repeated by the Museum of Modern Art and received worldwide acclaim.

The project resulted in several LP releases of poems from the project, released on Giorno Poetry Systems. The piece Vajra Kisses is part of the double album The Dial-A-Poem Poets, which includes works by Allen Ginsberg, Emmett Williams and Anne Waldman.

PS