Legendary New York poet, Bowery artist, and subject of Elizabeth Peyton’s work, John Giorno will read from his newly published anthology of collected works from his fifty-year career. Subduing Demons In America: Selected Poems 1962–2007, is published by Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press. A book signing and reception will follow.

An innovator of poetry and performance, John Giorno's career is intertwined with contemporaries like Andy Warhol, William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin. He helped pioneer the open exploration and celebration of queer sexuality in poetry in the 1960s; his anti-war work with Abbie Hoffmann resulted in Spiro Agnew labeling him one of the “Hanoi Hannahs” in the 1970s; and his AIDS Treatment Project, begun in 1984, set the bar for direct, compassionate action in the AIDS crisis. He founded Giorno Poetry Systems in 1965 to explore the use of technology in poetry.

Giorno is celebrated for his high-energy live performances. His use of found materials, montage techniques, and careful direct exploration of the nature of mind through meditation has produced a vast body of work containing explosive experimental configurations of queer sex, spiritual practice and teaching, fused with fragments of everyday life.

Book signing to follow reading.