Flow Chart: A Poem (Poesia Ser.)

Synopsis

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 itselfThe 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).&”

Copyright:

1991

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

216 Pages

ISBN-13:

9781480459090

Related ISBNs:

9780374525491

Publisher:

Open Road Media

Date of Addition:

10/15/23

Copyrighted By:

John Ashbery

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Poetry, Literature and Fiction

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.