Great Lives

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Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

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Matthew Parris

Great Lives: Wendy Cope on John Clare

Wendy Cope on John Clare

BBC Radio 4 - Great Lives, Wendy Cope on John Clare

Matthew Parris talks to Wendy Cope about her poetic hero John Clare.  From 2015.

Wendy Cope tells Matthew Parris why she loves the 19th century poet John Clare. Jonathan Bate is the expert witness.  From 2015.

"John Clare, I cried last night for you" wrote Wendy Cope in a poem dedicated to the earlier poet, who overcame monumental setbacks such as a poverty-stricken upbringing and a long struggle with mental illness.  However, Clare managed to write some of the most sensitive poetry in the English language. At one point he was known as "the English Robert Burns" but then his fame dropped away and many people now remember him solely for his cri de coeur, "I Am." 

Expert witness is John Clare's biographer, Sir Jonathan Bate. 

Producer Christine Hall

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015

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