Jane Clarke on RTÉ Radio 1 & in The Irish Times
‘A Change in the Air, Jane Clarke’s third collection, is a quiet, stoical meditation on fragility and mortality. Humanity takes its place within the rhythms of a natural world built on acceptance, community, and renewal. The title promises the best kind of revolution: freshness and wholesomeness – and the poems which follow deliver on this … In Jane Clarke’s hands, clarity, purity and strength speak for themselves. Her words are weighed and used sparingly. They take your breath away.’ – John Field, T S Eliot Prize Reviewer
Irish poet Jane Clarke's third full collection A Change in the Air was published by Bloodaxe in May 2023. It was longlisted for the 2023 Laurel Prize for nature writing and ecopoetry and shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection. It is on the shortlist for the T S Eliot Prize 2023. Across six sequences these intimate poems of unembellished imagery accrue power and resonance in what is essentially a book of love poems to our beautiful, fragile world.
A Change in the Air follows Jane Clarke's 2019 second collection When the Tree Falls, which was shortlisted for the Pigott Poetry Prize 2020, the Irish Times Poetry Now Award and the Farmgate Cafe National Poetry Award 2020, as well as being longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2020. Her debut collection The River (2015) was the first poetry book to be shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize. Jane Clarke grew up on a farm in Co. Roscommon, and now lives near Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow. Her anthology of nature poetry, Windfall: Irish Nature Poems to Inspire and Connect (Hachette Books Ireland), illustrated by Jane Carkill was published in hardback on 1 November 2023.
For details of Jane's forthcoming readings in Brussels, Scotland, Ireland and London, see her events page on the Bloodaxe website here.
'A Change in the Air by Jane Clarke is a collection that deals with contemporary and historic rural life in Ireland, in particular its crafts and traditions. Set against accounts of queer love in a changing Ireland, these poems are musical, moving and true; each word chosen with deep care, each phrase made with a craftswoman’s precision.' - Jessica Traynor, on behalf of the Forward Prize Judges
ONLINE REVIEW COVERAGE
London Grip, online 13 November 2023
An excellent detailed review of Jane Clarke’s third collection A Change in the Air was featured online in London Grip on 13 November.
‘Her delicacy of expression, her minutely-observed descriptions, her almost teasing understatements, all bring delight ... Clarke appears to relish the opportunity to draw with a fine pencil, as she offers precise descriptions of ordinary events and experiences.’ - Alwyn Marriage, London Grip
https://londongrip.co.uk/2023/11/london-grip-poetry-review-jane-clarke-2/
London Grip, online 13 November 2023
An excellent detailed review of Jane Clarke’s third collection A Change in the Air was featured online in London Grip on 13 November.
‘Her delicacy of expression, her minutely-observed descriptions, her almost teasing understatements, all bring delight ... Clarke appears to relish the opportunity to draw with a fine pencil, as she offers precise descriptions of ordinary events and experiences.’ - Alwyn Marriage, London Grip
https://londongrip.co.uk/2023/11/london-grip-poetry-review-jane-clarke-2/
T S Eliot Prize Newsletter, online 2 November 2023
Jane Clarke’s T S Eliot Prize-shortlisted third collection A Change in the Air was the focus of the T S Eliot Prize e-newsletter of 2 November 2023. It featured Readers’ Notes, an excellent review by John Field, and videos of Jane Clarke reading from and talking about her book. Her poem ‘Spalls’ was featured in the newsletter.
‘A Change in the Air offers a generous-hearted view of the world … In Jane Clarke’s hands, clarity, purity and strength speak for themselves. Her words are weighed and used sparingly. They take your breath away.’ – John Field, T S Eliot Prize reviewer
John Field’s brilliant review is available in full on the T S Eliot Prize website:
https://tseliot.com/prize/the-t-s-eliot-prize-2023/reviews/#jane-clarke
Readers’ Notes for A Change in the Air
https://tseliot.com/prize/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Clarke-Readers-Notes-2023.pdf
Jane Clarke’s T S Eliot Prize-shortlisted third collection A Change in the Air was the focus of the T S Eliot Prize e-newsletter of 2 November 2023. It featured Readers’ Notes, an excellent review by John Field, and videos of Jane Clarke reading from and talking about her book. Her poem ‘Spalls’ was featured in the newsletter.
‘A Change in the Air offers a generous-hearted view of the world … In Jane Clarke’s hands, clarity, purity and strength speak for themselves. Her words are weighed and used sparingly. They take your breath away.’ – John Field, T S Eliot Prize reviewer
John Field’s brilliant review is available in full on the T S Eliot Prize website:
https://tseliot.com/prize/the-t-s-eliot-prize-2023/reviews/#jane-clarke
Readers’ Notes for A Change in the Air
https://tseliot.com/prize/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Clarke-Readers-Notes-2023.pdf
The Newsletter for Jane Clarke can be read here:
The videos feature Jane reading her poems ‘Pit Ponies of Glendasan’, ‘Recipe for a Bog’ and ‘Spalls’ from A Change in the Air. In the fourth film, she talks about her work and her shortlisted collection. All four videos have been posted on the T S Eliot Prize YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TSEliotprizeYT
Jane Clarke talks about her work and her T S Eliot Prize-shortlisted collection A Change in the Air.
IRISH FEATURE PUBLICITY FOR JANE CLARKE
The Irish Times, Q&A interview, Saturday 28 October 2023
Jane Clarke was interviewed for a Q&A with Martin Doyle for The Irish Times. A 600-word piece appeared as a full-page spread in the print edition on 28 October. She spoke about the Windfall anthology which she has edited, her own poetry collections, her background in psychotherapy, her upbringing on a farm in Co Roscommon, and what drew her to nature poetry.
A longer version of the interview is available online by subscription.
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2023/10/28/jane-clarke-for-months-i-was-steeped-in-nature-poetry-from-yeats-to-the-present-day/
Sunday Independent, ‘My Life in Books’, Sunday 29 October 2023
Jane Clarke was interviewed for the Sunday Independent’s ‘My Life in Books’ feature. It appeared in print on 29 October as an almost full-page feature. All her books, including the Windfall anthology, were mentioned in the introductory bio. The feature also ran in her regional newspaper Bray People on 8 November.
Under ‘The book you give as a present’, Jane recommended Neil Astley’s 2002 Staying Alive: real poems for unreal times anthology.
‘I often give people Staying Alive or any other anthology in that Bloodaxe series, so brilliantly edited by Neil Astley. There’s a poem for everyone there.’ – Jane Clarke.
In the section about books on her bedside table, Jane included ‘I Think We’re Alone Now by UK poet Abigail Parry’ – which is on the shortlist for the TS Eliot Prize 2023 along with Jane’s third collection A Change in the Air.
Available online in full by subscription via the Irish Independent's website. Read here.
The Irish Times, Q&A interview, Saturday 28 October 2023
Jane Clarke was interviewed for a Q&A with Martin Doyle for The Irish Times. A 600-word piece appeared as a full-page spread in the print edition on 28 October. She spoke about the Windfall anthology which she has edited, her own poetry collections, her background in psychotherapy, her upbringing on a farm in Co Roscommon, and what drew her to nature poetry.
A longer version of the interview is available online by subscription.
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2023/10/28/jane-clarke-for-months-i-was-steeped-in-nature-poetry-from-yeats-to-the-present-day/
Sunday Independent, ‘My Life in Books’, Sunday 29 October 2023
Jane Clarke was interviewed for the Sunday Independent’s ‘My Life in Books’ feature. It appeared in print on 29 October as an almost full-page feature. All her books, including the Windfall anthology, were mentioned in the introductory bio. The feature also ran in her regional newspaper Bray People on 8 November.
Under ‘The book you give as a present’, Jane recommended Neil Astley’s 2002 Staying Alive: real poems for unreal times anthology.
‘I often give people Staying Alive or any other anthology in that Bloodaxe series, so brilliantly edited by Neil Astley. There’s a poem for everyone there.’ – Jane Clarke.
In the section about books on her bedside table, Jane included ‘I Think We’re Alone Now by UK poet Abigail Parry’ – which is on the shortlist for the TS Eliot Prize 2023 along with Jane’s third collection A Change in the Air.
Available online in full by subscription via the Irish Independent's website. Read here.
Jane Clarke was on tour in the USA in late September 2023. Her books are distributed in the USA via Consortium Book Sales.
US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH JANE CLARKE
The Poet and the Poem: Jane Clarke, US Library of Congress podcast, online 2 October 2023
Jane Clarke was interviewed by Grace Cavalieri for her half-hour Library of Congress podcast The Poet and the Poem. Jane read and discussed poems from her third collection A Change in the Air. She spoke about the different sections of the book, and about her upbringing on a farm in Co Roscommon. Jane was in the US to give readings from her new collection in Washington DC and in Princeton.
For the podcast, Jane read her poems ‘After’, ‘Dressing My Mother for her Grandson’s Wedding’, ‘All the horses she’s ever loved’ from the first section of A Change in the Air, followed by two poems from her sequence about the lead mining heritage of Co Wicklow: ‘Christmas Morning’ and ‘Pit Ponies of Glendasan’. She read a long extract from her poem about the creation of the Irish border, ‘You could say it begins’, which is based on interviews with women who live along the border. She ended by reading three poems from the final section: ‘At Purteen Harbour’, ‘Spalls’ and ‘June’.
‘This is my favourite book of yours. I think that this is just your crown jewel. This book is absolutely your voice without effort – it’s pure silk.’ – Grace Cavalieri, speaking on The Poet and the Poem podcast, on A Change in the Air
https://www.gracecavalieri.com/poetLaureates/featuredpoet_janeclarke2023.html
Jane was interviewed by Grace Cavalieri in 2019 about her second collection When the Tree Falls.
The Poet and the Poem: Jane Clarke, US Library of Congress podcast, online 2 October 2023
Jane Clarke was interviewed by Grace Cavalieri for her half-hour Library of Congress podcast The Poet and the Poem. Jane read and discussed poems from her third collection A Change in the Air. She spoke about the different sections of the book, and about her upbringing on a farm in Co Roscommon. Jane was in the US to give readings from her new collection in Washington DC and in Princeton.
For the podcast, Jane read her poems ‘After’, ‘Dressing My Mother for her Grandson’s Wedding’, ‘All the horses she’s ever loved’ from the first section of A Change in the Air, followed by two poems from her sequence about the lead mining heritage of Co Wicklow: ‘Christmas Morning’ and ‘Pit Ponies of Glendasan’. She read a long extract from her poem about the creation of the Irish border, ‘You could say it begins’, which is based on interviews with women who live along the border. She ended by reading three poems from the final section: ‘At Purteen Harbour’, ‘Spalls’ and ‘June’.
‘This is my favourite book of yours. I think that this is just your crown jewel. This book is absolutely your voice without effort – it’s pure silk.’ – Grace Cavalieri, speaking on The Poet and the Poem podcast, on A Change in the Air
https://www.gracecavalieri.com/poetLaureates/featuredpoet_janeclarke2023.html
Jane was interviewed by Grace Cavalieri in 2019 about her second collection When the Tree Falls.
US ONLINE POEM FEATURE IN THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK CLUB
The Washington Post, Book Club Newsletter, Friday 29 September 2023
Ron Charles, Book Critic of The Washington Post, featured Jane Clarke’s poem ‘Shepherd’ from A Change in the Air in his Washington Post Book Club newsletter of 29 September. He hosted a public interview with Jane Clarke later that day in Washington DC at NYU's John Brademas Center.
‘Her verse attends so closely to the land and the people of her rural homeland that it makes us attend more closely to our own. This summer she published A Change in the Air, a collection that glides gently from caring for her mother to remembering the Troubles to moving into a new house in the countryside.’ – Ron Charles, The Washington Post Book Club newsletter
The Washington Post, Book Club Newsletter, Friday 29 September 2023
Ron Charles, Book Critic of The Washington Post, featured Jane Clarke’s poem ‘Shepherd’ from A Change in the Air in his Washington Post Book Club newsletter of 29 September. He hosted a public interview with Jane Clarke later that day in Washington DC at NYU's John Brademas Center.
‘Her verse attends so closely to the land and the people of her rural homeland that it makes us attend more closely to our own. This summer she published A Change in the Air, a collection that glides gently from caring for her mother to remembering the Troubles to moving into a new house in the countryside.’ – Ron Charles, The Washington Post Book Club newsletter
Read the poem and Ron Charles' full introduction via The Washington Post newsletter here.
~~~~~
US ONLINE BOOKS FEATURE
Shepherd.com, The best books to make you fall in love with nature poetry (chosen by Jane Clarke), online September 2023
Jane Clarke was invited to choose five books about nature and the environment for the US book site Shepherd.com. She began by introducing herself and her new collection A Change in the Air.
‘Ever since my childhood on a farm poetry has helped me pay attention to the world around me. Like a naturalist’s field guide, nature poems name, depict, and explore what might otherwise pass unnoticed. Now in the midst of environmental crisis I believe poets have a role alongside ecologists, farmers, and foresters to protect and restore our threatened habitats and species. Writing nature poetry helps me face and express loss while celebrating what still survives. I value poetry that connects us to what we love and gives us courage to imagine different ways of living.’ – Jane Clarke
One of the five books she recommended was Neil Astley’s 2007 Bloodaxe anthology Earth Shattering: Ecopoems.
https://shepherd.com/best-books/to-make-you-fall-in-love-with-nature-poetry
US INTERVIEW WITH RATTLE MAGAZINE
Ahead of her US tour in September 2023, Jane Clarke was interviewed at length by Timothy Green, editor of the US poetry magazine Rattle. Jane joined Tim from her home in Co Wicklow. Their conversation was livestreamed on 21 August 2023, and is now available on YouTube. Among many other things, they discussed her background in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and how that relates to her writing, the importance of finding music in language, and how commissions have led her poetry in many new and interesting directions. Jane read and introduced her poems 'After' (previously featured in Rattle's Irish issue in Spring 2023), 'All the horses she ever loved', 'Pit Ponies of Glendasan', 'Crossings', 'Lazy Beds', 'Recipe for a bog', 'Spalls' and 'Stepping in', all from her new collection A Change in the Air.
'Beautiful, lush language, really condensed - a trademark of your work - rural, pastoral themes which are beautiful. It's wonderful poetry to read. It twists and hits hard in a tight little space. I just loved it.' - Timothy Green, introducing Jane Clarke and her poetry
Jane features from 09:35. Available as a separate chapter on the YouTube page.
The poem feature in the Spring 2023 edition of Rattle, along with audio of Jane reading 'After' from A Change in the Air, is on Rattle's website here.
FEATURE IN THE IRISH TIMES
The Irish Times, Tuesday 26 September 2023
Jane Clarke was invited to contribute to The Irish Times' feature on creativity which ran in print and online on 26 September.
‘I’ve learned that creativity is fed by playfulness, curiosity, sadness and love. There’s an element of mystery to making a poem, but it is also as practical as making a cake.’ – Jane Clarke, The Irish Times
Jane Clarke was invited to contribute to The Irish Times' feature on creativity which ran in print and online on 26 September.
‘I’ve learned that creativity is fed by playfulness, curiosity, sadness and love. There’s an element of mystery to making a poem, but it is also as practical as making a cake.’ – Jane Clarke, The Irish Times
FORWARD PRIZE FEATURES
The Poetry School invited Jane Clarke to contribute a ‘How I Did It’ piece about the inspiration behind a poem from her Forward Prize shortlisted collection A Change in the Air. Jane chose to write about the titular poem ‘Pit Ponies of Glendasan’ – one of a sequence of poems she wrote especially for the BBC Radio 4 feature The Miners’ Way, which she presented in 2020. The feature went online on 21 August 2023, accompanied by the poem. Read via the Poetry School website here.
The Forward Prize's 'Meet the Poet' interview with Jane Clarke went online on 25 August 2023, accompanied by the poem ‘Spalls’ from A Change in the Air, which was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection. Read via the Forward Prizes for Poetry website here.
An online feature on the four Irish poets shortlisted for this year’s Forward Prizes for Poetry ran in Ireland’s The Gloss Magazine on 25 August 2023 here.
REVIEW COVERAGE IN THE IRISH TIMES & POETRY IRELAND REVIEW
Poetry Ireland Review, Issue 140, Sumer 2023
A superb in-depth review of A Change in the Air was included in Issue 140 of Poetry Ireland Review. A new poem by Jane Clarke featured in the same issue.
‘The delight and haunting memorability of the elegies that open her excellent third book of poems, A Change in the Air, can partly be explained by an ability to turn moments of steady objectivity into disclosures of emotion and insight … Clarke finds an archetypal purpose for her timely preoccupations, and local points of crossover between ordinary and extraordinary experience. In this clear-flowing book, she seeks to get whole valleys onto the page, and to dwell in elemental magic, and she deserves to be celebrated for it.’ - Martin Dyar, Poetry Ireland Review
In print only.
The Irish Times, Saturday 19 August 2023
A Change in the Air was well reviewed by Martina Evans in The Irish Times's new poetry feature of 19 August 2023, alongside Maura Dooley's new collection Five Fifty-Five and two other books. Jane and Maura launched their collections together in London in June 2023.
'In Jane Clarke's A Change in the Air her characteristic understated style is more pared back than ever ... a subtle collection' - Martina Evans, The Irish Times
In print. Available online by subscription here.
BEST BOOKS OF 2023 SO FAR CHOICE IN THE IRISH TIMES
The Irish Times, Saturday 22 July 2023
Novelist Anne Enright chose Jane Clarke's third collection A Change in the Air as one of her best books of the year so far in The Irish Times of 22 July.
'Two very different poetry collections are keeping my bedside table happy, Ocean Vuong’s thrilling Time is a Mother and Jane Clarke’s A Change in the Air. Some of Clarke’s work, in particular, is so close to the way I am thinking now about care and compassion, I feel recognised and lifted by her lines.' - Anne Enright, The Irish Times (The best books of 2023 so far)
'The best books of 2023 so far: Anne Enright, Joseph O’Connor, Liz Nugent, Colm Tóibín and more have their say. We round up some opinions on the finest reads this year which you might think worth bringing on holidays with you.'
Read the feature in full via The Irish Times website here.
ONLINE REVIEW COVERAGE
Yorkshire Times, online 28 July 2023
Jane Clarke's ‘inimitable and beautiful new collection’ A Change in the Air was given a brilliant in-depth review in the online regional newspaper the Yorkshire Times on 28 July 2023.
‘What animates Jane Clarke are love and endurance: artfully calibrated, each section of A Change in the Air is an emotional complement to the next, for each poem hangs on one, or sometimes several, exquisitely clarified observations of landscape and of the figures in it, magnified as if through water. The two are in any case indivisible – the agricultural terrain is presented as a series of potent images whose significance is a measure of the unseen connection anchoring people to the world that made them.’ – Steve Whitaker, Yorkshire Times
Jane Clarke's ‘inimitable and beautiful new collection’ A Change in the Air was given a brilliant in-depth review in the online regional newspaper the Yorkshire Times on 28 July 2023.
‘What animates Jane Clarke are love and endurance: artfully calibrated, each section of A Change in the Air is an emotional complement to the next, for each poem hangs on one, or sometimes several, exquisitely clarified observations of landscape and of the figures in it, magnified as if through water. The two are in any case indivisible – the agricultural terrain is presented as a series of potent images whose significance is a measure of the unseen connection anchoring people to the world that made them.’ – Steve Whitaker, Yorkshire Times
Books Ireland, Poet on Poet, online 21 June 2023
A wonderful in-depth review of Jane Clarke’s third collection A Change in the Air has gone online at Books Ireland in their poet on poet review series. Irish poet Eleanor Hooker was the reviewer. The feature linked to the video which Jane had made especially for Books Ireland of her reading her poem ‘Dressing My Mother for Her Grandson’s Wedding’ - also see below.
‘… outstanding lyrical poems of place and heart … Clarke’s poems are above all else accessible, and in being so, the poet honours her reader. She removes a language blind, bringing us to the beating heart of her work. A Change in the Air is a generous collection by a poet resolute but gentle in the matter of emotional truth.’ - Eleanor Hooker, Books Ireland
https://booksirelandmagazine.com/outstanding-poems-of-place-and-heart-eleanor-hooker-on-a-change-in-the-air-by-jane-clarke/
POEM FEATURE ON RTÉ RADIO 1'S COUNTRYWIDE
CountryWide, RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday 15 July 2023, 8.10-9am
RTE Radio 1’s CountryWide featured their recording of Jane reading her poem ‘The Key’ from A Change in the Air on Saturday 15 July in response to the book having been shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection. Introduced by presenter Ella McSweeney.
Jane gave a pre-publication interview to CountryWide at the end of April, and that is still available to listen to. Scroll down for details and the links.
Listen to the poem feature here.
IRISH RADIO INTERVIEW WITH JANE CLARKE
Arena, RTÉ Radio 1, Tuesday 11 July 2023, 7-8pm
Jane Clarke was interviewed live down the line on RTÉ Radio 1’s arts programme Arena on 11 July. She was speaking to presenter Seán Rocks about her third collection A Change in the Air, and about her response to the book having been shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection. She read her poems ‘Crossings’ and ‘Lazy Beds’ from the book.
The interview is available as a 14-minute clip, illustrated with a photographic portrait of Jane Clarke taken for the RTÉ arts project Illuminations in 2020.
Arena, RTÉ Radio 1, Tuesday 11 July 2023, 7-8pm
Jane Clarke was interviewed live down the line on RTÉ Radio 1’s arts programme Arena on 11 July. She was speaking to presenter Seán Rocks about her third collection A Change in the Air, and about her response to the book having been shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection. She read her poems ‘Crossings’ and ‘Lazy Beds’ from the book.
The interview is available as a 14-minute clip, illustrated with a photographic portrait of Jane Clarke taken for the RTÉ arts project Illuminations in 2020.
Listen here.
REGIONAL PRESS FEATURES FOR JANE CLARKE
Wicklow People, online 7 July 2023
A feature on Jane Clarke’s third collection A Change in the Air having been shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection ran in the Wicklow People of 7 July. The Wicklow Times also covered the story. Jane grew up on a farm in Co Roscommon, but has lived in Co Wicklow for nearly thirty years now.
https://m.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/wicklow-district/wicklow-poet-jane-clarke-shortlisted-for-prestigious-international-award/a843995742.html
Wicklow People, online 7 July 2023
A feature on Jane Clarke’s third collection A Change in the Air having been shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection ran in the Wicklow People of 7 July. The Wicklow Times also covered the story. Jane grew up on a farm in Co Roscommon, but has lived in Co Wicklow for nearly thirty years now.
https://m.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/wicklow-district/wicklow-poet-jane-clarke-shortlisted-for-prestigious-international-award/a843995742.html
COUNTRYWIDE POEM FEATURE WITH JANE CLARKE
CountryWide, RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday 27 May 2023, 8.10-9am
Jane Clarke recorded her poem ‘Butter for Queens’ from A Change in the Air especially for RTÉ Radio 1's CountryWide. It aired on 27 May and is now available as a separate podcast. Introduced by presenter Philip Boucher-Hayes.
Listen via the CountryWide webpages here.
Jane Clarke's interview on CountryWide on 29 April 2023 is still available (scroll down for more details). Her interview was divided between the two halves of the programme. Recorded at her home near Glenmalure and in the surrounding countryside.
Jane spoke about the mining heritage of Co Wicklow and read her poem 'Christmas Morning' from A Change in the Air. Listen here (from 14:10).
Jane Clarke was in conversation with Della Kilroy and read her poems 'The Key' and 'Stepping in'. Listen here (first item).
POEM FEATURES
The Scotsman, Poem of the Week, Saturday 3 June 2023
Jane Clarke’s poem 'Pit Ponies of Glendasan' - from which the title of her third collection A Change in the Air is taken - was featured in The Scotsman Magazine on 3 June. This is one of a sequence of poems Jane Clarke wrote especially for the BBC Radio 4 feature she presented in 2020 about The Miners’ Way in Co Wicklow.
Jane Clarke’s poem 'Pit Ponies of Glendasan' - from which the title of her third collection A Change in the Air is taken - was featured in The Scotsman Magazine on 3 June. This is one of a sequence of poems Jane Clarke wrote especially for the BBC Radio 4 feature she presented in 2020 about The Miners’ Way in Co Wicklow.
'This week's poem is by the Irish poet Jane Clarke. Her work has a clarity and precision to it, a matter-of-factness that helps give form to the depth and weight of the words, which explore everyday living, past and present, and what shapes us as humans.' - The Scotsman, Poem of the Week
In print only.
Bookanista, online Thursday 25 May 2023
Jane Clarke’s tender poems ‘Her first’ and ‘Wife’ from A Change in the Air were featured online at Bookanista to mark publication day on 25 May.
https://bookanista.com/from-a-change-in-the-air/
Jane Clarke’s tender poems ‘Her first’ and ‘Wife’ from A Change in the Air were featured online at Bookanista to mark publication day on 25 May.
https://bookanista.com/from-a-change-in-the-air/
VIDEO POEM FEATURE ON BOOKS IRELAND
Books Ireland, Poetry Happening, Wednesday 24 May 2023
A lovely film of Jane Clarke reading her poem ‘Dressing My Mother for Her Grandson’s Wedding’ from A Change in the Air was featured on Books Ireland to mark publication here (and below). The collection was later reviewed by Eleanor Hooker in Books Ireland here.
A lovely film of Jane Clarke reading her poem ‘Dressing My Mother for Her Grandson’s Wedding’ from A Change in the Air was featured on Books Ireland to mark publication here (and below). The collection was later reviewed by Eleanor Hooker in Books Ireland here.
POEM OF THE WEEK FEATURE IN THE IRISH TIMES
The Irish Times, Poem of the Week, Saturday 20 May 2023
Jane Clarke’s poem ‘All the horses she’s ever loved’ from her third collection A Change in the Air was featured as Poem of the Week in The Irish Times of 20 May ahead of publication on 25 May.
In print and online (view 3 articles for free). Read the poem online in The Irish Times here.
The Irish Times, Poem of the Week, Saturday 20 May 2023
Jane Clarke’s poem ‘All the horses she’s ever loved’ from her third collection A Change in the Air was featured as Poem of the Week in The Irish Times of 20 May ahead of publication on 25 May.
In print and online (view 3 articles for free). Read the poem online in The Irish Times here.
IRISH RADIO INTERVIEW WITH JANE CLARKE
CountryWide, RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday 29 April 2023, 8.10-9am
CountryWide, RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday 29 April 2023, 8.10-9am
Jane Clarke was interviewed for a special edition of RTE Radio 1's CountryWide on the rivers of Co Wicklow. This was her first radio interview for her third collection A Change in the Air, which is out from Bloodaxe in the UK and Ireland on 25 May.
Jane’s interview sits in the middle of a programme about the Rivers of Wicklow - the Avoca, Aughrim, Avonmore (the location for her poem ‘Stepping in’) and the Avonbeg (where she lives). Jane read three poems from A Change in the Air. She started by reading ‘Christmas Morning’ as part of a piece on mining in the Wicklow valleys. The previous interviewee, former miner Robbie Carter, was one of the people Jane interviewed for her BBC Radio 4 feature on The Miners’ Way of Co Wicklow (scroll down for more details on this). Some of the poems she wrote especially for that BBC Radio 4 feature are included in A Change in the Air in her sequence ‘Pit Ponies of Glendasan’.
For this edition of CountryWide, reporter Della Kilroy visited Jane at her home near Glenmalure, where Jane read her poem ‘The Key’ about moving into that house nearly thirty years ago. They then took a walk into nearby woods, and Jane spoke about the flora and fauna of the area, as well as the changes in biodiversity that have taken place since since she moved to Co Wicklow. Jane read her poem ‘Stepping in’ beside the pool in the River Avonmore where she swims, as described in the poem.
For this edition of CountryWide, reporter Della Kilroy visited Jane at her home near Glenmalure, where Jane read her poem ‘The Key’ about moving into that house nearly thirty years ago. They then took a walk into nearby woods, and Jane spoke about the flora and fauna of the area, as well as the changes in biodiversity that have taken place since since she moved to Co Wicklow. Jane read her poem ‘Stepping in’ beside the pool in the River Avonmore where she swims, as described in the poem.
Listen back via RTE Player. The programme has been divided into two parts, and Jane Clarke featured at the end of the first part and beginning of the second.
Jane speaks about the mining heritage of Co Wicklow and reads her poem 'Christmas Morning' from A Change in the Air. Listen here (from 14:10).
Jane speaks about the mining heritage of Co Wicklow and reads her poem 'Christmas Morning' from A Change in the Air. Listen here (from 14:10).
Jane Clarke in conversation with Della Kilroy and reads her poems 'The Key' and 'Stepping in'. Listen here (first item).
Watch a video of Jane Clarke reading her poem 'Stepping in' beside the river Avonmore - filmed by RTE Radio 1's CountryWide and shared on RTE Radio 1's Twitter page here.
Jane read her poem 'Butter for Queens' from her new collection on CountryWide on 27 May 2023. Listen here: https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22256325/
~~~~~
US POEM FEATURE FOR JANE CLARKE
Rattle, Poem feature, #29, Spring 2023
Jane Clarke’s ‘After’, the first poem in her third collection A Change in the Air, was featured in the spring issue of Rattle, as part of their Irish tribute issue. Audio of Jane reading the poem is included with the online edition. Jane will also be recording an interview for Rattlecast ahead of US distribution of A Change in the Air in August 2023.
Rattle, Poem feature, #29, Spring 2023
Jane Clarke’s ‘After’, the first poem in her third collection A Change in the Air, was featured in the spring issue of Rattle, as part of their Irish tribute issue. Audio of Jane reading the poem is included with the online edition. Jane will also be recording an interview for Rattlecast ahead of US distribution of A Change in the Air in August 2023.
Read and listen to the poem on the Rattle website here.
~~~~~~
TV, RADIO & PODCASTS FEATURING POEMS FROM A CHANGE IN THE AIR (PRE-PUBLICATION)
DISCUSSION WITH JANE CLARKE ON RTE LYRIC FM
Culture File Weekly, RTÉ Lyric FM, Saturday 3 December 2022, 6.30pm
Culture File Weekly, RTÉ Lyric FM, Saturday 3 December 2022, 6.30pm
Poet Jane Clarke joined photographer Tina Claffey, naturalist & writer Richard Nairn, and naturalist & writer Paddy Woodworth for a discussion about their favourite nature books as part of the Naturalist's Bookshelf series. Jane recommended Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain and Michael Longley’s new collection The Slain Birds.
A photograph of a marsh marigold by Tina Claffey features on the front cover of Jane’sthird collection A Change in the Air. This happy coincidence was mentioned by the host in his introduction.
This lovely event was recorded live at the Dublin Book Festival in the National Botanic Gardens, and was broadcast on RTÉ Lyric FM on 3 December 2022.
This lovely event was recorded live at the Dublin Book Festival in the National Botanic Gardens, and was broadcast on RTÉ Lyric FM on 3 December 2022.
Listen to the discussion via the RTE website here.
POEMS ON RTE RADIO 1's NATURE NIGHTS
Nature Nights: Brother Sun, Sister Moon, RTÉ Radio 1, Wednesday 2 November 2022, 10.50-11pm
Jane Clarke read three poems on Brother Sun, Sister Moon, part of RTE Radio 1’s week-long series of late-night programmes on nature and biodiversity, Nature Nights.
Jane read her poems 'The Dipper' and ‘Shepherd’ from her third collection A Change in the Air, and ‘Cypress’ from When the Tree Falls.
‘John Connell, poet Jane Clarke and environmental campaigner Lorna Gold read from their own work and classical writings on themes of nature and reflect on how the natural world has inspired artists since ancient times.’
Jane read ‘The Dipper’ at 00:54, ‘Shepherd’ at 02:07 and ‘Cypress’ at 05:13. Listen here.
Jane Clarke was Resident Poet for the Nature Nights series. Her poems were threaded into other programmes during the week.
JANE CLARKE INTERVIEW ON RTE RADIO 1’s COUNTRYWIDE
CountryWide, RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday 29 October 2022, 8.10-9am
Ahead of her reading at the Burren Winterage Weekend, Jane Clarke was interviewed on a special edition of RTE Radio 1's CountryWide broadcast live from the Burren on 29 October. She read her new poem 'Laying the Hedge' (too recent to be included in her third collection A Change in the Air), and spoke to presenter Damien O'Reilly about how the landscapes of Co Roscommon, where she grew up on a farm, and Co Wicklow, where she lives now, have influenced her work as a writer.
POEMS FEATURED ON RTE RADIO 1’s COUNTRYWIDE
CountryWide, RTE Radio 1, Saturday 12 June 2021 & Saturday 6 November 2021, Saturday 8 January 2022, Saturday 16 April 2022, 8.10-9am
Jane Clarke has recorded a number of poems for RTE Radio 1’s farming and rural life programme CountryWide. The first of these, ‘Camping at Bearna’ from When the Tree Falls, was broadcast on 12 June 2021. The poem was introduced by presenter Damien O’Reilly and ran as the final item in the programme.
The second poem, ‘That I could’ from When the Tree Falls, aired on 6 November. Jane gave a very moving reading of her poem, which presenter Damien O'Reilly linked to the suffering of so many people during the pandemic. ‘That I could’ was also featured as Poem of the Week in The Yorkshire Times of 12 October 2021. Read in full here.
Jane Clarke recorded her new poem ‘Fences’ especially for CountryWide. It was broadcast near the end of the programme on 8 January 2022. It is now included in her third collection A Change in the Air.
'Fences', 8 January 2022. Listen here.
‘That I could’, 6 November 2021. Listen here.
'Camping at Bearna', 12 June 2021. Listen here.
Jane has recorded her new poem ‘Eggs’ for CountryWide. It was broadcast near the end of the programme on 16 April 2022 – Easter Saturday. The poem is published in Jane’s third collection A Change in the Air.
'Eggs', 16 April 2022. Listen here.
Jane Clarke’s interview on CountryWide from 6 June 2020 is still available as a podcast. She took a walk with Ella McSweeney in the hills near her home in Glenmalure and spoke about what inspires her poetry. Listen here.
PODCAST INTERVIEWS WITH JANE CLARKE
Jane Clarke was the guest on the Royal Irish Academy’s podcast Shelfmarks of 24 October. Zoë Comyns went to meet Jane at home in Co Wicklow in August 2021, and they spent the morning making this recording, and taking a walk.
Jane spoke about finding inspiration from the landscapes of Roscommon, Wicklow and the Mourne Mountains, and from the people who inhabit those landscapes both now and in the past. She talked about how to Co Wicklow 25 years ago prompted her to start writing, and how ‘emotion, memory and imagination’ work together in her work. Jane read her new poem ‘Flowers from the Hills’, written for her sick mother during the first lockdown when she was unable to visit her. The newly-commissioned poems she read were ‘When he was a boy’, about her shepherd neighbor, and another inspired by the stone masons who used to work in the Mourne Mountains. Her grandmother was from County Down. ‘When he was a boy’ is now called ‘Shepherd’ and is published in Jane's third collection A Change in the Air.
‘Zoë’s guest this week on Shelfmarks is poet Jane Clarke. Jane grew up in Co Roscommon and came to writing after a career in psychotherapy. She moved to Wicklow almost 25 years ago and Zoë visited her there in her home and took a walk up a lane known as Fairy Lane or Lousy Land and listeners will hear two specially commissioned poems about her neighbour and quarrymen.’
Jane features from 7:50. Listen here.
JANE CLARKE READS NEW POEMS ON SUNDAY MISCELLANY
Sunday Miscellany, RTE Radio 1, Sunday 12 September 2021, 9.10-10am
Jane Clarke read her new poem ‘The Lookout’ on Sunday Miscellany on 12 September. This is the third of three new poems by Jane Clarke featured on the programme. 'The Lookout' is included in Jane's third collection A Change in the Air.
Available as a podcast, illustrated with a portrait of Jane Clarke. Listen here.
Still available:
Jane read her new love poem ‘22nd of June’ on Sunday Miscellany on 27 June 2021. Listen here. This poem is now called 'June' and is the final poem in her third collection A Change in the Air,
Jane Clarke read her poem about Nora Barnacle on Sunday Miscellany’s Bloomsday special on 13 June 2021.‘Night Boat, North Wall Quay’ was a commission for the Bloomsday Festival in 2020. Listen here.
RTE ONE TV INTERVIEW WITH JANE CLARKE ON NATIONWIDE
Nationwide: Wicklow Mountains, RTE One TV, Friday 23 October 2020, 7pm
An interview with poet Jane Clarke opened RTE One’s Nationwide on 23 October 2020. This edition of the programme is devoted to things to see and do around the Wicklow Mountains, including the Miners’ Way long distance path. Former miner Robbie Carter told his story of the explosion in the last working mine at Glendasan, and Jane Clarke read her poem that he inspired – ‘Foxrock Mine’. They were both filmed on location at the disused mine.
'Foxrock Mine' was one of a sequence of new poems the Jane Clarke wrote especially for the BBC Radio 4 programme she presented in May 2020, The Miners’ Way, in which she walked the 19km path and interviewed people connected with the mine along the way: former miner Robbie Carter, as well as local historian Carmel O'Toole and sheep farmer Pat Dunne - also interviewed on Nationwide. The 'Pit Ponies of Glendasan' sequence is published in Jane's third collection A Change in the Air,
Watch here. First item.
For more on Jane's sequence of poems about the disused mines of Co Wicklow, and the Radio 4 programme she presented, see: https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/news?articleid=1025
NEW JANE CLARKE POEM ON RTE ONE TV & RTE RADIO 1
Shine: A Summer Concert, RTE One TV, 8.15pm, Saturday 29 August 2020, RTE Radio 1, Sunday 30 August, 6pm
RTE commissioned Jane Clarke to write a new poem for a special concert to support artists during this time of Covid-19. It was broadcast on RTE television on 29 August 2020. Irish/Sierra Leonean ArtSoul musician & actress Loah read Jane’s poem ‘Little Tern Colony, Kilcoole’ (now published in A Change in the Air, 2023). The concert was broadcast on RTE Radio the following day. It was RTE's pick of the day on 29 August. This hour of music and words filmed at the Iveagh Gardens, the National Concert Hall and at RTÉ over the summer. Threaded throughout, there is powerful commissioned spoken word and poetry from John Boyne, Jane Clarke and others.
A video of Loah reading the poem can be seen via RTE One’s facebook page here.
RTE commissioned Jane Clarke to write a new poem for a special concert to support artists during this time of Covid-19. It was broadcast on RTE television on 29 August 2020. Irish/Sierra Leonean ArtSoul musician & actress Loah read Jane’s poem ‘Little Tern Colony, Kilcoole’ (now published in A Change in the Air, 2023). The concert was broadcast on RTE Radio the following day. It was RTE's pick of the day on 29 August. This hour of music and words filmed at the Iveagh Gardens, the National Concert Hall and at RTÉ over the summer. Threaded throughout, there is powerful commissioned spoken word and poetry from John Boyne, Jane Clarke and others.
A video of Loah reading the poem can be seen via RTE One’s facebook page here.
A film of Jane Clarke herself reading the poem was made by RTE for Illuminations. View here. You can also read the poem and Jane's introduction to it.
Jane reads her poem 'Little Tern Colony, Kilcoole' as part of RTE's major online exhibition exploring the impact of Covid-19. Illuminations, an online gallery of 30 works, features visual art, photography, film, music, poetry, essays and spoken word. The poem is published in her third collection A Change in the Air.
'Illuminations' - an RTE project.
RTE have photographed the artists taking part in the shine concert for a digital gallery. Jane was invited to go to Dublin at the end of August 2020 to be filmed reading her new poem ‘Little Tern Colony, Kilcoole’. The digital gallery accompanying Jane's poem features a stunning photographic portrait of Jane, the text of the poem, her introduction to it, and a film of her reading it.
View here.
NEW POEM ON RTE RADIO 1'S THE POETRY PROGRAMME
The Poetry Programme: Poems in a Pandemic, RTE Radio 1, Monday 1 June 2020, 1.30pm
Jane Clarke and Kerry Hardie both read new poems on this very moving special edition of The Poetry Programme broadcast on Ireland’s Bank Holiday, 1 June.
Both poems were written in April, and are included on Manchester Writing School’s WRITE where we are NOW website, which gathers together poems written in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Jane Clarke’s poem ‘First Earlies’ was written in Glenmalure on 21 April 2020. It is now published in her third collection A Change in the Air.
https://www.mmu.ac.uk/write/first-earlies.php
‘On Bank Holiday Monday, at 1:30 pm on 1st June, Olivia O'Leary presents a selection of poems from poets responding to the Covid 19 crisis in Poems in a Pandemic: a Poetry Programme Special.’
Kerry features at 15:09 and Jane at 22:58. Listen via The Poetry Programme's webpages here.
BBC RADIO 4 FEATURE PRESENTED BY JANE CLARKE - CHOSEN FOR BBC RADIO 4'S PICK OF THE WEEK
The Miners’ Way, BBC Radio 4, Sunday 3 May 2020, 4.30pm (repeated Saturday 9 May, 11.30pm)
Beautiful half-hour BBC Radio 4 feature presented by Irish poet Jane Clarke. She reads 'Birthing the Lamb' from When the Tree Falls, along with a new sequence of poems. The Miners' Way was chosen by Antonia Quirke for her Pick of the Week of 3 May on BBC Radio 4, beginning with Jane reading her poem 'Birthing the Lamb', followed by a clip from the end of the programme.
Beautiful half-hour BBC Radio 4 feature presented by Irish poet Jane Clarke. She reads 'Birthing the Lamb' from When the Tree Falls, along with a new sequence of poems. The Miners' Way was chosen by Antonia Quirke for her Pick of the Week of 3 May on BBC Radio 4, beginning with Jane reading her poem 'Birthing the Lamb', followed by a clip from the end of the programme.
The sequence of poems Jane wrote for The Miners' Way, 'Pit Pones of Glendason', is published in her third collection A Change in the Air in May 2023.
The Miners' Way is no longer available to listen to, but details are here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000htr0
The Miners' Way is no longer available to listen to, but details are here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000htr0
ARTICLE BY JANE CLARKE IN THE IRISH TIMES
Jane Clarke wrote about the Miners' Way of Glenmalure, Glendalough and Glendasan in The Irish Times of 1 May ahead of her BBC Radio 4 feature The Miners' Way. Her article is here. It includes one of the new poems she has written especially for the programme. You can hear Jane read this poem on the Words Lightly Spoken podcast. Click here to listen.
[26 April 2023]
