John Clare - Selected Poems, volume 1
By David Barnes
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Podcast Description
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. (LibriVox recording)
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
01 - The Setting Sun | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
2 |
02 - A Scene | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
3 |
03 - The Harvest Morning | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
4 |
04 - Noon | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
5 |
05 - What is Life? | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
6 |
06 - Summer | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
7 |
07 - Ballad | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
8 |
08 - To My Cottage | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
9 |
09 - Joys of Youth | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
10 |
10 - The Meeting | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
11 |
11 - Winter | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
12 |
12 - Sudden Shower | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
13 |
13 - Careless Rambles | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
14 |
14 - Bloomfield (I) | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
15 |
15 - Woodland Thoughts | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
16 |
16 - The Heath | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
17 |
17 - Winter in thge Fens | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
18 |
18 - Sabbath Bells | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
19 |
19 - An Idle Hour | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
20 |
20 - Winter Fields | -- | 5/26/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 20 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Superbly Mellow Readings
Barnes' voice is both smooth and powerfully interpretive. It's wonderful to hear this all too often overlooked poet get his due. Clare is among the best of the British poets even if we might see little of him in America's uncertain construction of the British canon. Still, he can now certainly sit proudly among his rivals: Byron, Shelley, Keats, Browning, Tennyson and Wordsworth —with the help of readings like this. Here is Clare uncovered, unplugged. Barnes has just the right timber and pacing, bending our ear to how Clare himself might have read his poems aloud. Wonderful interpretations. I'm happy to see that this is but Volume 1. There's more to come!
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