This was a pleasant surprise. I only became aware of Clare through Iain Sinclair. Discovering that Clare was a naturalist gave me a certain pause. Then Tuesday saw me heading to a somewhat irrelevant workshop just outside of Indianapolis and I tossed it into my bag. Winter still has a hold on that area and the location of my meeting was adjacent to a lake. How fitting then the rolling descriptions of birds and plants, even there under the brittle grip of a February frost. I have come to realize how Wendell Berry while embodying so many of my values and aspirations is still a very average poet. Clare is likewise remarkable; his descriptions of country folk at the holidays are amazing, human and touching.