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Flow Chart

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Flow Chart is a 1991 work by American poet John Ashbery, published as a single book-length poem divided into six sections. Its continuously shifting language moves among memory, observation, speculation, conversation, and reflections on the act of writing rather than following a conventional narrative. The work extends the associative, self-questioning methods associated with Ashbery and the New York School, and is intended for readers of experimental modern poetry.

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How long is John Ashbery's Flow Chart?

Flow Chart is a single book-length poem published in 1991, running to over 200 pages in its original edition. It is divided into six sections and is one of the longest single works in Ashbery's extensive and varied catalog of poetry.

Is Flow Chart difficult to read compared to Ashbery's other works?

Flow Chart is generally considered one of Ashbery's most challenging works because of its length and its continuously shifting language, which moves among memory, observation, speculation, and reflections on writing without following a clear narrative. Readers familiar with Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror or Houseboat Days will recognize his non-linear style but at a much larger scale.

What is the structure of Flow Chart?

The poem is divided into six numbered sections, but within each section the language flows without conventional stanza breaks or narrative development. Ashbery described the work as an attempt to keep the poem going as a continuous process of thought and language rather than arriving at a fixed conclusion.

When was Flow Chart published and by whom?

Flow Chart was published in 1991. It appeared during the later period of Ashbery's career, following major works like Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (1975), which won the Pulitzer Prize, and preceding works like Can You Hear, Bird (1995).

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