John Rives

John Rives Profile

Rives’s way with words has been called a “demonstration of what the English language is capable of.” The poet, performing artist, and event host touches a range of human emotions bringing new and surprising meaning to simple things and universal experiences.

Known for humorously layered and heartwarming pieces like “Kite” and “Mockingbird,” he was dubbed the “first 2.0 Poet” after performing in a series of ads for telecom company S.A. Orange. He has also been frequently featured on NPR and HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. A Ted Talk favorite, his talks have launched hobbies that audiences didn’t even know they wanted, such as the culture wide search for references to “4 A.M,” which ultimately cumulated in Rives’s project, the Museum of Museum of Four in the Morning, an online crowd-sourced collection of quotes connected to four in the morning found in art and popular culture.

Rives is particularly famous for his use of multimedia in his performances as he seamlessly intertwining images, video, and often the audience with his poems and hosting duties. A former educator for the hearing impaired, he sometimes incorporates sign language into his poetry as well. He is also an accomplished pop-up book author and designer and has developed and taught a course on blogging and social networks at the International Center of Photography, New York.

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  Part poet, part storyteller, part philosopher, Rives is the co-host of TEDActive as well as a frequent TED speaker. On stage, his poems burst in many directions, exposing multiple layers and unexpected treats: childhood memories, grown-up humor, notions of love and lust, of what is lost forever and of what’s still out there waiting to unfold,

  A regular on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, Rives also starred alongside model Bar Refaeli in the 2008 Bravo special Ironic Iconic America, touring the United States on a “roller coaster ride through the eye-popping panorama of American pop culture.” In October of 2008 he began appearing as the “first 2.0 poet” in a series of ads for telecom company Orange S.A.[4]

  His best-known poems include “Kite,” about waking up alone in a new lover’s apartment, and “Mockingbird,” which he performs differently every time, incorporating the words of other poets and speakers in the program.

  Flat pages can’t contain his storytelling, even when paper is his medium. The pop-up books he creates for children unfold with surprise: The Christmas Pop-Up Present expands to reveal moving parts, hidden areas and miniature booklets inside.

  As a host, he has an uncanny talent for making an event go smoothly, filling in the gaps that so many conferences leave unorganized. He runs the whole day, making sure the audience is engaged and interacting at every possible moment by hosting networking sessions, caption-writing contests, and on-stage competitions. And, he finds the day’s humorous, poignant moments and incorporates them in wrap-up presentations and mini-documentaries. He makes sure that all the energy, effort, and expense of the conference is put to the best possible use, and that every attendee and organizer walks away feeling that the day was a success. He also gives talks on the power of storytelling—and how multimedia technology is changing the way we communicate—as well as keynotes and workshops with valuable lessons on public speaking

  In 2013, Rives began curating Museum of Four in the Morning, an online crowd-sourced collection of references to four in the morning in art and popular culture – a time that may well be part of a global conspiracy. In a good way.