Ode To Gravity:
The Dial-A-Poem Poets

Amirkhanian introduces a program of poetry from the Dial-A-Poem exhibits organized by John Giorno at the Museum of Modern Art and other spaces. These poems were originally available to the general public via a special telephone number from the The Architectural League of New York. However due to some of the adult content contained in certain pieces the project was threatened with lawsuit’s from concerned, conservative parents and the telephone number was eventually disconnected. John Giorno then turned to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City as a venue for his collaborative project. However the radical political content of many of the works caused a great deal of concern and despite strong support from the then current director, the show was eventually pulled. The show then moved to a number of different venues and many of the poems have since been published as an audio recording. Poems heard on this program include works by John Cage, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Emmett Williams, Ed Sanders, Taylor Mead, Jim Carroll, Aram Saroyan, Anne Waldman, Bobby Seale, and many others.