Selected Poems of John Clare, Volume 1

John Clare (1793 - 1864) was a farm labourer in the village of Helpstone, Northamptonshire, who became arguably England's greatest nature poet. He rose to fame when his `Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery' was published in 1820. His language preserves many local dialect words in a mixture of classical forms and heart-felt love of country life and nature. The poems in this collection are from his early career, and are largely free of pointers to his later mental illness. (Summary by...