Great Demon Kings

About this book

"Memoir of the poet and performance artist John Giorno"-- When he graduated from Columbia in 1958, Giorno knew poetry didn't pay the bills, so he worked on Wall Street, spending his nights at the happenings, underground movie premiers, art shows, and poetry readings that brought the city to life. After relationships with Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and later Jasper Johns, he became a renowned poet in his own right, working at the intersection of literature and technology, freely crossing genres and mediums. This is his memoir: an openly gay man at a time when many artists remained closeted and shunned gay subject matter; a devout Buddhist whose faith acted as a rudder during a life of tremendous animation. Completed shortly before Giorno's death in 2019, his book offers a joyous, life-affirming, and sensational look at New York City during its creative peak. -- adapted from jacket