First launched in 1969 by poet John Giorno, Dial-A-Poem began as a radical experiment: pick up the phone, dial a number, and hear a poem. Today, it’s a global network. Working with partners around the world, Giorno Poetry Systems records contemporary poets reading in their native languages and makes their work available through freely accessible local phone numbers.
This website brings together Giorno’s original recordings alongside those from each international edition in one accessible space. Click the phone to pick it up and hear a poem. Click again to hang up. Click again to hear another.
Click here for more information about Dial-A-Poem.
As of 2025, International partners include coleção moraes-barbosa (São Paulo, Brazil), Fundación Casa Wabi (Mexico City, Mexico), and The Poetry Project (New York, USA).
Transcription and Captioning by Lane Beller, Aurora Giacobbe, Mariana Kovalik Silva, Bella Lorenz, Jakhi McCray, AJ Medeiros, Anaïs Ortiz, and Lily Pinchbeck.
Website by Émilie Ferrat and Clara Pasteau.
