born July 13, 1793, Helpston, near Peterborough, Northamptonshire, Eng.
died May 20, 1864, Northampton, Northamptonshire
British poet.
Clare grew up in extreme rural poverty, with little access to books, but he had a prodigious memory and absorbed folk ballads. His Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery (1820) brought a short period of celebrity, but later volumes, including The Shepherd's Calendar (1827) and The Rural Muse (1835), sold poorly. Suffering from penury and poor health, he fell prey to delusions and was placed in an asylum in 1837. After four years he briefly escaped; certified insane, he spent his final 23 years in another asylum, where he wrote some of his most lucid, lyrical poetry.