Poet Clare Shaw ran a series of John Clare workshops in June and July 2019, which were hosted by Manchester Central Library and administered by Danny Middleton.
“I’m a Bloodaxe poet, with three collections and a fourth on the way. Often addressing political and personal conflict, my poetry is fuelled by my faith in the transformative and redemptive power of language. I’m a passionate mental health activist, and I’ve written and spoken extensively about the role of language in mental health provision. Other projects include a national collaboration with the Royal Literary Fund and USDAW, the retail and distribution union, to bring creativity and writing skills into workplaces. John Clare’s work captures – with joy, brilliance and heartbreak – my own fascination with identity, class, the working life, psychological suffering and the natural world.”
