We went to Westminster Abbey today to see Poet's corner. At ~$25 to get in, I am too churched out and decided I'd just have to skip looking at Clare's marker there. I would rather …
Clare took four trips to London. The first as a literary sensation paraded about by his publisher, John Taylor. He was completely unprepared for London salons, snickered at for his green coat and poor manners. …
At the end of the second day of his escape from the High Beach asylum, John Clare came to split in the road and turned back in the near darkness to read the signs and …
I am grateful to start the New Year off with seven new poems in A Dozen Nothing. Shout out to my friend and past contributor, J.W. Marshall, for introducing my work to the editors. …
All week, I've been selecting poems for "The Poetry Moment" on Spokane Public Radio station, KPBX 91.1. As part of that, they ask for me to share one of my own poems, so here is …
This afternoon, I went to the press check for my first book as the designer, the author, and the publisher! Six weeks ago, I was working away on my Clare book, when the idea to …
A final walk in "Clare Country." In 1832, the major poets of Clare's generation were dead. Byron to a fever, Shelley drowned, and Keats of tuberculous. Clare was broke, usually sick, and, by modern standards, an …
As I arrived back in Peterborough for my last day of Clare explorations, there was a disco version of "Life in a Northern Town" playing in the mall, which is a shortcut to the hotel. …
Here's a little story on the 1%. Today we strolled the grounds of Burghley House, home of the Marquess of Exeter, still privately held and considered the finest house of the Elizabethan age. The part of …
Unlike me, John Clare was an accomplished fiddler. He traveled to neighboring villages to play dances. He also collected regional songs as Burns did. It's something of his I've never seen. I'm curious because as he …
One of Clare's happiest times in life was the year he spent working as a pot boy at the pub next to his cottage. He was slight and often ill, so it was less difficult …
In July of 1841, John Clare got tired of being in the asylum and plotted his escape from High Beach in the Epping Forest. He turned toward the southwest, before connecting with the Great York …