Audiobook · read by volunteers
Selected Poems of John Clare, Volume 1
John Clare (1793–1864)
Read by David Barnes · 20 chapters · 37 min
About the book
John Clare was a farm labourer from Helpston in Northamptonshire, and many readers now count him among the finest nature poets England has produced. This first volume of his selected poems brings together twenty short pieces, each a close and affectionate look at the countryside he knew so well. You will hear about a setting sun, a quiet scene in the fields and a harvest morning, written in a direct language that keeps the rhythms and words of rural speech. Clare writes about birds, weather, labour and the changing seasons without the polish of fashionable verse, yet his attention is sharp and his feeling is real. A single volunteer reads the whole selection in a little over half an hour, which makes it easy to listen to in one sitting. These poems are a good introduction for anyone curious about English poetry that grew straight from the land.
Introduction
John Clare was born in 1793 and died in 1864. He lived most of his life in and around the village of Helpston in Northamptonshire, working on the land. His first book, Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery, appeared in 1820 and brought him sudden attention, as a poet from a farming background was a novelty to London readers.
His fame faded in later years, and his life was marked by hardship and long illness. Yet his reputation has grown steadily since, and he is now widely valued for the freshness of his observation and for a language that preserves the dialect and idiom of his region. He wrote about small, specific things, such as a particular bird or a corner of a field, with great tenderness, and often lamented the changes that enclosure of common land brought to the countryside.
This recording is the first volume of a selection and has twenty short poems, which together last about thirty-five minutes. It is read by one LibriVox volunteer. The poems are best taken slowly, perhaps a few at a time, so that their images have room to settle. For listeners who enjoy the Romantic poets, Clare offers a different angle, one seen from the field rather than the study. If you know Clare only by name, this short collection is an easy way to begin. If you already admire him, it is a chance to hear the poems spoken, which brings out their music.
Public domain
John Clare died in 1864: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive