Clare, JOHN

Clare, JOHN, English peasant poet, the son of a poor labourer, was born at Helpstone, near Peterborough, July 13, 1793. After some scanty schooling, he began to do outdoor work in his seventh year, and for eleven months was an under-gardener at Burghley Park; meanwhile he studied Thomson's Seasons, and began to cultivate verse-writing. He enlisted in the militia (1812), associated with gypsies, in 1817 worked at a lime-kiln, but was discharged for wasting his time in scribbling, and had to apply for parish relief. His Poems, descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery (1821), had a good reception from critics and the public. Though the Marquis of Exeter and other patrons secured him £45 a year, he continued poor and unfortunate. His Shepherd's Calendar (1827) was unsuccessful. His Rural Muse (1835) brought him £40, and he received £50 from the Literary Fund. Broken down in body and mind, he died in the county lunatic asylum, Northampton, 20th May 1864. See Martin's Life (1865), and Cherry's Life and Remains (1873).