Selected Poems of John Clare, Volume 1


Read by David Barnes

(4.9 stars; 13 reviews)

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


(5 stars)

<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!


(5 stars)

John Clare’s poetry is absolutely divine. David Barnes reading is perfect. Enjoy!