Flow Chart

A Poem

Fiction & Literature, Poetry, American
Cover of the book Flow Chart by John Ashbery, Open Road Media
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John Ashbery ISBN: 9781480459090
Publisher: Open Road Media Publication: September 9, 2014
Imprint: Open Road Media Language: English
Author: John Ashbery
ISBN: 9781480459090
Publisher: Open Road Media
Publication: September 9, 2014
Imprint: Open Road Media
Language: English

A quintessentially American epic poem that rewrites all the rules of epic poetry—starting with the one that says epic poetry can’t be about the writing of epic poetry itself

The appearance of Flow Chart in 1991 marked the kickoff of a remarkably prolific period in John Ashbery’s long career, a decade during which he published seven all-new books of poetry as well as a collected series of lectures on poetic form and practice. So it comes as no surprise that this book-length poem—one of the longest ever written by an American poet—reads like a rocket launch: charged, propulsive, mesmerizing, a series of careful explosions that, together, create a radical forward motion.

It’s been said that Flow Chart was written in response to a dare of sorts: Artist and friend Trevor Winkfield suggested that Ashbery write a poem of exactly one hundred pages, a challenge that Ashbery took up with plans to complete the poem in one hundred days. But the celebrated work that ultimately emerged from its squared-off origin story was one that the poet himself called “a continuum, a diary.” In six connected, constantly surprising movements of free verse—with the famous “sunflower” double sestina thrown in, just to reinforce the poem’s own multivarious logic—Ashbery’s poem maps a path through modern American consciousness with all its attendant noise, clamor, and signal: “Words, however, are not the culprit. They are at worst a placebo, / leading nowhere (though nowhere, it must be added, can sometimes be a cozy / place, preferable in many cases to somewhere).”

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A quintessentially American epic poem that rewrites all the rules of epic poetry—starting with the one that says epic poetry can’t be about the writing of epic poetry itself

The appearance of Flow Chart in 1991 marked the kickoff of a remarkably prolific period in John Ashbery’s long career, a decade during which he published seven all-new books of poetry as well as a collected series of lectures on poetic form and practice. So it comes as no surprise that this book-length poem—one of the longest ever written by an American poet—reads like a rocket launch: charged, propulsive, mesmerizing, a series of careful explosions that, together, create a radical forward motion.

It’s been said that Flow Chart was written in response to a dare of sorts: Artist and friend Trevor Winkfield suggested that Ashbery write a poem of exactly one hundred pages, a challenge that Ashbery took up with plans to complete the poem in one hundred days. But the celebrated work that ultimately emerged from its squared-off origin story was one that the poet himself called “a continuum, a diary.” In six connected, constantly surprising movements of free verse—with the famous “sunflower” double sestina thrown in, just to reinforce the poem’s own multivarious logic—Ashbery’s poem maps a path through modern American consciousness with all its attendant noise, clamor, and signal: “Words, however, are not the culprit. They are at worst a placebo, / leading nowhere (though nowhere, it must be added, can sometimes be a cozy / place, preferable in many cases to somewhere).”

More books from Open Road Media

Cover of the book A Woman of No Importance by John Ashbery
Cover of the book Flashback by John Ashbery
Cover of the book Tokyo Bay by John Ashbery
Cover of the book Man in a Cage by John Ashbery
Cover of the book The Education of Henry Adams by John Ashbery
Cover of the book Miss Silver Deals with Death by John Ashbery
Cover of the book The Margery Sharp Collection Volume Two by John Ashbery
Cover of the book Pacific Interlude by John Ashbery
Cover of the book The Silver Falcon by John Ashbery
Cover of the book Tempter by John Ashbery
Cover of the book All Things Bright and Beautiful by John Ashbery
Cover of the book Stand to Horse by John Ashbery
Cover of the book The Kent Family Chronicles Volumes Four Through Six by John Ashbery
Cover of the book Bloodhoney by John Ashbery
Cover of the book Letters from America, 1946–1951 by John Ashbery
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy