John Clare

Simon Kövesi is Professor of English Literature, and Head of the Department of English and Modern Languages, at Oxford Brookes University, UK.

“The book’s passionate, insightful, deeply informed, and provocative arguments are bound to elicit strong responses of many kinds. Its exceptional ability to bring new and compelling historical complexity to Clare and his poetry, however, cannot be questioned, and together with its lucidity, conviction, and willingness to provoke will make this book a ‘must read’ in Clare studies for decades to come.” (Scott Hess, John Clare Society Journal, Issue 37, June, 2018)“Simon Kövesi’s John Clare: Nature, Criticism and History positions itself as an intervention in Clare studies, and in literary criticism more generally. … John Clare: Nature, Criticism and History is invaluable for its insights into the ways in which an ecological agenda might inform editorial and research practices.” (Matthew McConkey, Textual Practice, Vol. 32 (02), 2018)

• Chapter 1. John Clare and place.- Chapter 2. Clare and ecocentrism.- Chapter 3. Clare making text; making text of Clare.- Chapter 4. Looking, painting, listing, noting: Clare, women and nature.- Chapter 5. Conclusion: Clare as our contemporary; Clare as history.- Bibliography.- Index.