You Got to Burn to Shine: New and Selected Writings (High Risk Books) [Paperback]

John Giorno (Author), William S. Burroughs (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: High Risk Books | Publication Date: January 1, 1993

The originator of Spoken Word and performance poetry, John Giorno is one of the most influential figures in the world of contemporary performance. You Got to Burn to Shine, his first book in many years, collects intensely rhythmic, sexual and philosophical poetry spanning two decades. Here, too, are deeply personal memoirs, including the story of his friendship with Andy Warhol (Giorno had an occasionally sexual relationship with Warhol, met his mother, and starred in Warhol's first film Sleep); an anonymous sexual encounter with Keith Haring, an aspiring painter who recognized Giorno in a subway station toilet; and notes toward a Buddhist understanding of death in the age of AIDS.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Read aloud, Giorno's gritty poetry has an undeniable power and insistence. In print, as he admits, the dynamics don't always work. Conceived as performance pieces, his poems lie flat on the page, begging for a voice charged with emotion. His "litanies from the underworld of the mind," as William S. Burroughs calls them in the introduction, such as triple repetitions of "Crank me/ up and keep me/ open," and "I want to sleep hugging/ someone over and over," may resound in a smoke-filled club but read a little silly here. He offers unrestrained recollections of famed friends, including a harrowing description of Robert Maplethorpe's death from AIDS in 1989 and a graphic depiction of having sex in a New York subway toilet with the late artist Keith Haring while other men participated. Elsewhere Giorno recalls his starring role in Andy Warhol's Sleep. Recommended for Beat, avant garde, and sexual studies collections.
- Ron Antonucci, Hudson Lib. & Historical Soc. , Ohio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

(last Night) I Gambled With My Anger And Lost
Berlin & Chernobyl
Completely Attached To Delusion
Exiled In Domestic Life
Hi Risque
I Don't Need It I Don't Want It And You Cheated Me Out Of It
Life Is A Killer
Scum & Slime
Stretching It Wider
Sucking Mud
Suicide Sutra
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852423218
• ISBN-13: 978-1852423216
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,036,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Gay

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars poetry from the trenches, June 28, 2000

By 

George Schaefer - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Got to Burn to Shine: New and Selected Writings (High Risk Books) (Paperback)

John Giorno is one of the finest spoken word poets in New York City. He is also quite adept at getting the word down on paper, too. You Got to Burn to Shine is a great collection of poems. It even includes an introduction by William S Burroughs. Giorno writes poetry from the gut. It is free verse that swings with intensity. if you like a snifter of realism in your poetry then this book is for you. Giorno writes with a hard nosed frankness that is both poignant and refreshing without being overbearing. Poems like Stretching it Wider and (Last Night) I Gambled With My Anger and Lost are classic free verse. I read this collection with great delight.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful look at the truth of life., November 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: You Got to Burn to Shine: New and Selected Writings (High Risk Books) (Paperback)

I found this book to be powerful and truthful. The context and the langauge were delicate machines portaying the life of the author. It should not be read by anyone with a closed mind.