February 16, 2012

On the show tonight: John Giorno ran with an iconic crowd long before anyone called them icons. He had close relationships with William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Andy Warhol -- who was also John's lover for a time. In this clip he reflects on each of those men ...

On Andy Warhol:

Andy Warhol may have hated the way he looked but John remembers him as a man "with a beautiful body and a big dick."

On William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg:

John's relationships with Burroughs and Ginsberg were not unlike teacher and student. He says William S. Burroughs was "kind and shy, simple and loving" despite always being armed with a loaded gun. As for Allen Ginsberg, Giorno says he knew Ginsberg all his life and "he had two sides...he was a great poet and politician." Take a listen.