“[John Clare's] father was a casual farm labourer, his family never more than a few days' wages from the poorhouse. Clare himself,… — George Monbiot Copy Share Image
John Clare, in his poem To a Fallen Elm, makes the tree a selfmark as well as a landmark. — Tim Fulford Copy Share Image
![“[John Clare's] father was a casual farm labourer, his family never more than a few days' wages from the poorhouse. Clare himself, from early childhood, scraped a living in the fields. He was schooled capriciously, and only until the age of 12, but from his first bare contact fell wildly in love…” quote by George Monbiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f04/george-monbiot-2762_children_john-clare-s-father-was-a-casual-farm-la_1287142.jpg)
