Pulitzer Prize-winning Carcanet poet John Ashbery gave a rare poetry reading last night at the Tazza Café in Providence, as part of the Downcity Poetry Series, much to the surprise and delight of local rag the Providence Journal, which commented: 'John Ashbery at Tazza? In downtown Providence? It's as if one of The Muses stepped down from her pedestal, stopped in and ordered a beer.' Today Ashbery will go on to Brown University to take part in a three-day conference to celebrate the 25th anniversary of avant-garde magazine Conjunctions, alongside Joyce Carol Oates and others.

John Ashbery's most recent collection is Where Shall I Wander (Carcanet, 2005). Carcanet will publish his new collection, A Worldly Country, in February. Click here to pre-order your copy with a 10% discount and free p&p.