The son of humble and almost illiterate parents, Clare grew up in the Northamptonshire village of Helpston and made the surrounding countryside his world. His formal education, such as it was, ended when he was eleven years old, but this child of the 'unwearying eye' had a thirst for knowledge and became a model example of the self-taught man. As a poet of rural England he has no rivals.
From the moment his first publication - Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery - appeared in 1820, it was clear that England had a new and very original poet. Sadly, the public's enthusiasm did not last long and each new volume met with diminishing applause. Ill and in debt, he left Helpston for Northborough from where he was eventually removed to Northampton General Lunatic Asylum in 1841, where he died in 1864.
An Early Clare poem...
A Character
Her hair bound in tortoise or else loosley flowing
(Lo each is a beautiful show)
More blacker than jet the fine ringlets seem glowing
Nay they rival the Micaelmas sloe.
Her face cloth'd in blushes like the east in a morning
Sheds a lustre so healthful and gay
And O! her sweet neck is with Cupids adorning
More whiter than blossoms of May.
Her beautiful bosom with love sweetly swelling
Whould make e'en a Hermit to long
And O! of her eyes and her lips theres no telling
They'r out o' the reach of my song.
Her height with the rest in exactest propotion
Nought defective throughout can be seen
And her fine limbs conceal'd will oft show their sweet motion
When met by the wind on the green.
Tho her form is so charmingly fine tall and slender
It does not outrival her mind,
She's equaly Modest Obliging and Tender
That she seems for an angel designd.
She also is Witty and quick in descerning,
Nor a stranger to Helicon's spring,
She's an able proficient in all sorts of Learning,
To Draw or to Write or to sing.
O! Cupid since thou with thy Bow fast pursuing
Made an Arrow flie twang thro my heart
Give me but this Maid I'll ne'er mourn the subduing,
But bless the good aim of thy dart.
The Early Poems of John Clare 1804-1822,
ed. Eric Robinson, David Powell and Margaret Grainger
(Oxford, 2 volumes, I-II, 1989)
The Society was founded in 1981 to promote a wider and deeper knowledge of this remarkable poet. It currently has about 600 members worldwide. We publish a Newsletter every 4 months, and a peer reviewed Journal once a year (received at the end of the subscription year). In July of each year we gather for an Annual Festival in Helpston, Clare's birthplace. At the Festival there is always a variety of Clare books for sale, some published by the Society. Held on the weekend nearest Clare's birthdate (July 13th), the Festival also includes poetry readings, tours, stalls, talks, live entertainment and the Annual General Meeting of the Society. In addition, at other times of the year we hold exhibitions, day schools, poetry readings and conferences. The News and Events section of this website -- see links on the right -- list such events.
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The John Clare Society is a member of the Alliance of Literary Societies.
The Society is a registered charity (no. 1124846).
