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8
Apr 11th, 2002
 POETRY



Porn Yesterday: a conversation with John Giorno

 

In Andy Warhol's six-hour film opus Sleep, John Giorno is the guy sleeping. He also happens to be the inventor of performance poetry, marrying technology, rock 'n' roll and pornography with an art form all too often associated with the sublime and genteel. Giorno's books include Balling Buddha; Cancer in My Left Ball; Cum; and You've Got to Burn to Shine (1994), featuring memories of his love affair with Warhol. Other former Giorno flames include William S. Burroughs and artists Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns and, anonymously, Keith Haring.


    

Now in his sixties, Giorno still lives in the Lower East Side flat he shared with Burroughs, where he played with friends like Allen Ginsberg, Frank O'Hara, Gregory Corso, Anne Waldman, Lydia Lunch, Jim Carroll, the band Husker Du and Marianne Faithfull. In a room full of Buddhist paraphernalia (Giorno lends Burroughs's old room to a weekly meditation group), we looked back on his lifelong relationship with pornography, celebrating his famous 1965 groundbreaker, "Pornographic Poem."




Pornographic Poem



Seven Cuban

army officers

in exile

were at me

all night.

Tall,

sleek,

slender

Spanish types

with smooth dark

muscular bodies

and hair

like wet coal

on their heads

and between their legs.

I lost count

of the times

I was fucked

by them

in every conceivable

position.

At one point

they stood

around me

in a circle

and I had

to crawl

from one crotch

to another

sucking

on each cock

until it was hard.

When I got all

seven up

I shivered

looking up

at those erect pricks

all different

lengths

and widths

and knowing

that each one

was going up

my ass hole.

Everyone

of them

came

at least twice

and some three times.

Once they put me

on the bed

kneeling,

one fucked me

in the behind

another

in the mouth,

while I jacked off

one

with each hand

and two

of the others

rubbed

their peckers

on my bare feet

waiting

their turns

to get

into my can.

Just when I thought

they were all spent

two of them

got together

and fucked me

at once.

The positions

we were in

were crazy

but with two

big fat

Cuban cocks

up my ass

at one time

I was

in paradise.

Comments ( 8 )

Wow, incredible. Your best interview in months. It was so interesting to see a sexual history that retained its "fucking" essence. I loved it.
AM commented on Apr 11 02 at 2:46 am
What a great interview. Absolutely perfect. Give that Nester more work.
GM commented on Apr 11 02 at 8:30 am
"He also happens to be the inventor of performance poetry, marrying technology, rock 'n' roll and pornography with an art form all too often associated with the sublime and genteel." I disagree with that. When I think of performance poetry, I think of Lydia Lunch. Other than that, it's a fantastic interview. All of the Nerve pieces should be this good.
LJB commented on Apr 12 02 at 12:32 am
I LOVED READING THIS INTERVIEW ABOUT JOHN. VERY INTERESTING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING. IT MUST HAVE BEEN SUCH A GREAT TIME TO BE LIVING AND TO BE AN ARTIST OF ALL SORTS DURING THE 60'S AND 70'S. AND BEFORE. I LOVE JOHN GIORNO'S WORK AND THE FACT THAT HE IS SO CANDID AND HONEST ABOUT HIS LIFE, LOVES AND HIS WRITING. yOU DO A GREAT JOB OF GETTING TO THE BONE MARROW OF THINGS IN THE INTERVIEW. BRAVO!!!!!!!!! I HAVE HIS BOOK. YOU GOT TO BURN TO SHINE AND I KNEW OF THE WRITINGS THAT ARE ASKED ABOUT. THIS WAS FUN TO READ. SHANE
SA commented on Apr 11 02 at 3:40 pm
loved the poem!
pb commented on Jul 28 02 at 7:34 pm
I really liked this interview. It was very informative, entertaining and most of all for me as a poet, inspirational. I love sex, and most of all, i love to write about sex. John Giorno's words made me feel that what i love to do, isn't a bad thing or seen as being trite. Thanks Mr. Giorno.
S.A. commented on Sep 07 02 at 4:52 pm
Prison sucks. Thanks for the reminder.
MG commented on Apr 28 03 at 3:16 am
I am looking for where i can find John's published account of the penis sizes of all the famous writers and artists he's had sex with....can you please write back to me with this information?? Thank you,
AS commented on Mar 11 06 at 8:48 am

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