Champion of the Poor: Political Poetry and Prose

This text brings together Clare’s longest poem, The Parish , and his satires, The Hue and Cry and The Summons . Other poems, some previously unpublished, are included. They reveal his reactions to political and social conditions and events of his age. There are also prose works and fragments in which he reflects on the issues of the day included in the collection. A detailed introduction evokes the larger context of Clare’s writings and the difficulties he faced as a labourer trying to voice the concerns of his class in a period when such matters were regarded as the exclusive province of the educated and propertied classes. The book is part of Carcanet’s John Clare Programme .