At the root of all experimental sound practices are concepts, hopes, and ideals that endeavour to unlock new potentialities of meaning, expression, and understanding through the engagement of creativity and sonority. Historically, much of the attention on the byproducts of these processes has rested with experimental music and sound-art, leaving the richness of other practices, most notably the poetic expressions of the human voice, relatively unexplored. With this in hand, we’re thrilled to be able to cast light upon Giorno Poetry Systems, among the most important 20th Century canons of recordings dedicated to avant-garde and experimental poetry. Founded during the late 1960s in New York by the poet and performance artist John Giorno, out of a frustration that poetry was limited in its availability and progression to books and magazines, and a desire to communicate with audiences through different technological means, GPS became a full fledged record label, issuing important works by artists like Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Patti Smith, Frank Zappa, Diamanda Galás, Allen Ginsberg, John Cage, and Brion Gysin, William Burroughs, Charlie Morrow, Rene Ricard, Kathy Acker, Eileen Myles, and a near countless number of others, reframing the notion of poetics every step of the way.

Born in 1936 in New York, John Giorno was one of the most fascinating figures at the centre of the post-war cultural flowering in the United States. Following a chance meeting with Andy Warhol, the pair became lovers, leading to Giorno occupying a central place in the Factory scene and his starring in Warhol’s 1964 silent film “Sleep”. Establishing close friendships with figures like Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Merce Cunningham, John Cage, Jasper Johns, William S. Burroughs, and Brion Gysin during this same period, Giorno began applying Pop Art techniques of appropriation of found imagery to his poetry, as well as applying cut up and montage techniques to those texts. By 1965, the poet had begun to produce audio work, and the following year, inspired by Rauschenberg's Experiments in Art and Technology events, he founded the “Electronic Sensory Poetry Environments", working in collaboration with Robert Moog and others to create psychedelic poetry happenings, as well as Giorno Poetry Systems, conceived as a means to connect poetry to new audiences, via innovative technologies.

Among GPS’s earliest endeavours was the Dial-A-Poem series, a sprawling collection of short poems by various contemporary poets, that were made available over the phone by dialing a prescribed number. Not long after its presentation at the Museum of Modern Art in 1970, Giorno founded his iconic record label, with the early releases dedicated to the works originally recorded for the project, including pieces by William Burroughs, John Cage, Allen Ginsberg, John Ashbery, Ted Berrigan, Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Robert Rauschenberg, Anne Waldman, Bernadette Mayer, Robert Mapplethorpe, and hundreds of others.

Over the course of its run, Giorno Poetry Systems released around 20 vinyl LPs that explored a vast number of iterations and conceptualisations of how poetry might be realised in audio form. Each represents a world unto its own - pushing poetry off the printed page and into visual, musical, social, and political realms - comprising dozens of other singular worlds, that truly have to be heard to be understood.

The Dial-A-Poem Poets - Disconnected X2 LP (1974)

Comprising forty acts of poetic action drawn from the original Dial-A-Poem project, “Disconnected” was issued in 1974 as the third release in the label’s output, and includes important works by Allen Ginsberg, John Giorno, William S. Burroughs, John Cage, Anne Waldman, Diane Di Prima, Bernadette Mayer, Robert Creeley, Diane Wakoski, Gregory Corso, Jim Carroll, Charles Amirkhanian, and dozens of others.

One of many stand-outs is the rare Allen Ginsberg track, “Jimmy Berman”, a poetic song that features none other than Bob Dylan and Arthur Russell as members of the band.

The Dial-A-Poem Poets - Biting Off the Tongue of a Corpse (1975)

The fourth entry, from 1975, in The Dial-A-Poem Poets series of LPs, gathering 17 of the project’s original gestures, including pieces by Gary Snyder, John Giorno, William S. Burroughs, Charles Olson, Ted Berrigan, Ed Sanders, Diane Di Prima, John Wieners, Robert Duncan, John Cage, Denise Levertov, Frank O'Hara, Kenneth Koch, John Ashbery, and others. While often radically different, every piece is great, particularly John Cage’s “Mureau”, which allows the listener to sink into his dulcet tones.

William S. Burroughs and John Giorno - A d'Arc Press Selection (1975)

This killer double LP from 1975 is the first to expand the remit of Giorno Poetry Systems away from the original Dial-A-Poem Poets concept, in this case gathering a full LP worth of material by John Giorno, and a second full LP of material by William S. Burroughs, housed in one of our favourite covers the label ever issued. Burroughs dives into selections from his iconic works "The Wild Boys”, "Junkie", "Naked Lunch" and a number of others.

The Dial-a-Poem Poets - Totally Corrupt (1976)

Returning to the original Dial-a-Poem material for their only release of 1976, this humorously titled double LP launches in with a brilliant Charles Bukowski reading, as well as William S. Burroughs, Sylvia Plath, Anne Waldman, Amiri Baraka, Ken Kesey, Jackson MacLow, Charles Amirkhanian, William Carlos Williams, Allen Ginsberg, Taylor Mead, John Cage, Jerome Rothenberg, Susan Howe, and numerous others, gathering a total of 37 fantastic adventures in poetry.

John Giorno and Anne Waldman - A Kulchur Selection (1977)

Once again expanding Giorno Poetry Systems’ sense of poetic intervention, “A Kulchur Selection”, issued in 1974, offers a deep immersion into the work of John Giorno and the seminal American poet Anne Waldman, offering a full LP of material to each, with Waldman’s reading of “Fast Speaking Woman”, recorded at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado, during 1974 as particularly noteworthy.

The Dial-A-Poem Poets - Big Ego (1978)

Another humorously titled entry in the Dial-A-Poem Poets series, this time taking a distinctly musical approach to the poetic form, gathering works by none other than Patti Smith, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Robert Wilson & Christopher Knowles, Meredith Monk, Claes Oldenburg, The Fugs, and numerous others.

Especially noteworthy is Philip Glass’ “A Secret Solo”, a stunning work for organ recorded by the composer in 1977 that, to our knowledge, is unavailable anywhere else.

The Nova Convention (1979)

Organised by Giorno Poetry Systems, The Nova Convention was a three day celebration, held in the autumn of 1978 at the Entermedia Theater in New York City, attending to the works and legacy of William S. Burroughs, featuring readings, screenings and performances by Burroughs, Patti Smith, Philip Glass, Brion Gysin, Frank Zappa, John Cage, Laurie Anderson & Julia Heyward, Timothy Leary and many others. Issued the following year by GPS the double LP, “The Nova Convention”, documents many of the most stand-out of the festival’s happenings, including a rare live performance by Philip Glass of a section of “Einstein on the Beach”, John Cage’s “Writing For The Second Time Through Finnegans Wake”, and a fantastic reading by Patti Smith.

The Dial-A-Poem Poets - Sugar, Alcohol, & Meat (1980)

Entering a new era at the dawn of the 1980s with the constantly regenerating and evolving The Dial-A-Poem project, the double LP, “Sugar, Alcohol, & Meat” encounters legacy poets like John Cage, William S. Burroughs, Charlie Morrow, Gary Snyder, and Bernard Heidsieck, placed in conjunction with up-and-coming stars like Kathy Acker and Eileen Myles. Upping the ante, the cover features photos taken by Robert Mapplethorpe.

You're the Guy I Want to Share My Money With (1981)

Taking a jab at the rise of neoliberalism and greed that helped define the 1980s, the humorously titled double LP, “You're the Guy I Want to Share My Money With”, is a fascinating split offering over a third of its duration each to Laurie Anderson, William S. Burroughs, and John Giorno. Needless to say, while Burroughs and Giorno’s contributions are fantastic as ever, the highlights are the six hard to find Anderson pieces that range from spoken poetry to mind-bending musical gestures.

The Dial-A-Poem Poets - Life Is A Killer (1982)

Another killer entry in the roving The Dial-A-Poem Poets series with contributions by John Giorno, William S. Burroughs, Amiri Baraka, Jim Carroll, Jayne Cortez, Ned Sublette, Brion Gysin, Rose Lesniak, and Four Horsemen. Our favourite is the radical poetry ensemble Four Horsemen’s (some will remember that killer reissue of their debut LP by Holidays a number of years back) otherwise unavailable “The Dreams Remain”, a thrilling excursion into abstract vocalisation.

You're A Hook: The 15 Year Anniversary of Dial-A-Poem (1968-1983) - (1983)

“You’re A Hook” is a perfect one for those who want to dip their toe into the incredible Dial-A-Poem project. Exactly what it says on the cover: a beautiful LP celebrating 15 years of the ingenious initiative of phone based poetics, comprising works created between 1968 and 1983, including some of the best of the series’ contributions by John Giorno, William S. Burroughs, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith, Jim Carroll, Frank Zappa, and Allen Ginsberg.

A Diamond Hidden In The Mouth Of A Corpse (1985)

As Giorno Poetry Systems moved into the mid 1980s, with 1985’s “A Diamond Hidden In The Mouth Of A Corpse”, it becomes fairly clear that the swell of cultural activity surrounding punk, post-punk, and no-wave had penetrated the venerable institution. Featuring a killer cover by Keith Haring, this fantastic LP moves distinctly into the musical realm, marking a lasting shift for the imprint, featuring pieces by Hüsker Dü, David Johansen, John Giorno Band, Sonic Youth, Cabaret Voltaire, Diamanda Galás, Coil, Michael Gira, and others.

Smack My Crack (1987)

Continuing the shift in trajectory toward countercultural music that had begun with the previous year’s “A Diamond Hidden In The Mouth Of A Corpse”, “Smack My Crack”, issued by Giorno Poetry Systems in 1987, dives further into the energetic world of that moment’s sonic underground, gathering rare recordings by Butthole Surfers, Einstürzende Neubauten, Diamanda Galás, Swans, John Giorno Band, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, and others, as well as a reading by William S. Burroughs.

Like A Girl, I Want You To Keep Coming (1989)

While the imprint would continue minimal activity over the ensuing years, 1989’s “Like A Girl, I Want You To Keep Coming” is the final LP in the remarkable flurry of activity that had begun in 1972. Having incorporated a vast range of artists and diverse expressions through the means of sound and technology, at the end of the 80’s their final vinyl gesture wraps up their dedication to the musical underground that had begun with “A Diamond Hidden In The Mouth Of A Corpse” and “Smack My Crack”. Debbie Harry, New Order, David Byrne, Live Skull, Karen Finley, and Rollins Band, among others.