Selected Poems of John Clare, Volume 1
John Clare
Read by David Barnes
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 David Barnes).
(0 hr 37 min)
Chapters
| The Setting Sun | 1:16 | Read by David Barnes |
| A Scene | 1:15 | Read by David Barnes |
| The Harvest Morning | 5:02 | Read by David Barnes |
| Noon | 3:58 | Read by David Barnes |
| What is Life? | 2:17 | Read by David Barnes |
| Summer | 1:12 | Read by David Barnes |
| Ballad | 1:23 | Read by David Barnes |
| To My Cottage | 1:13 | Read by David Barnes |
| Joys of Youth | 1:16 | Read by David Barnes |
| The Meeting | 1:32 | Read by David Barnes |
| Winter | 1:18 | Read by David Barnes |
| Sudden Shower | 1:14 | Read by David Barnes |
| Careless Rambles | 1:14 | Read by David Barnes |
| Bloomfield (I) | 1:19 | Read by David Barnes |
| Woodland Thoughts | 1:23 | Read by David Barnes |
| The Heath | 2:48 | Read by David Barnes |
| Winter in the Fens | 2:14 | Read by David Barnes |
| Sabbath Bells | 2:35 | Read by David Barnes |
| An Idle Hour | 1:15 | Read by David Barnes |
| Winter Fields | 1:22 | Read by David Barnes |
Reviews
John Clare, Vol 1
stbalbach
<a href="http://librivox.org/newcatalog/search_advanced.php?title=&author=&cat=&genre=&status=all&type=Solo&language=&date=&reader=David+Barnes&bc=&mc=&action=Search" rel="nofollow">David Barnes</a> is one of LibriVox's best narrators (Stevenson's <i>Jekyll and Hyde</i>, Franz Kafka's <i>The Metamorphosis</i>, Oscar Wilde's <i>Canterville Ghost</i> and Gustave Flaubert's <i>Three Short Works</i>). John Clare is one of England's best poets of the 19th century. The two combined make for a wonderful listen. Clare's poems are like music (hear for example #16 "The Hedge"). The poems are short and reward multiple listens. To pick 4 favorites they would be (in no order): #15 "Woodland Thoughts", #5 "What is Life", #12 "Sudden Shower", #19 "An Idle Hour". [STB, 1/2010, 13573]
Such a great find!
Bob L.
John Clare’s poetry is absolutely divine. David Barnes reading is perfect. Enjoy!