Jeremy Clarke (born 5 February 1962) is a British-born poet.

Career

Clarke's debut collection, ''Devon Hymns'' (2010), featured artwork by

John Berger John Peter Berger (; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism ''Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to the ...

and Yves Berger. A limited edition

chapbook A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...

, ''Incidents of Travel'', and ''Common Prayer'' (pamphlet) were published in 2012. His second full collection, ''Spatiamentum'', was published in 2014 (illustrations by Italian artist Paola Volpato). All titles were published by Rufus Books, Toronto. An illustrated booklet, ''Cathedral'', was privately printed in 2017. A third collection, ''Psalms in the Vulgar Tongue'', was published by Wounded Wolf Press (Ankara, Turkey) in 2018. ''Bread of Broken Ground'' was privately printed in 2020. Clarke has collaborated with British sculptor

Emily Young Emily Young FRBS (born 1951) is a sculptor, who has been called "Britain's greatest living stone sculptor". She was born in London into a family of artists, writers and politicians. She currently divides her time between studios in London and It ...

on a work in stone for

St Pancras Old Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in Somers Town, Central London. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, and is believed by many to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England. The church i ...

in London. The stone, a polished block of Carrera marble, is inscribed with an extract from Clarke's poem Praise. It reads: 'And I am here / in a place beyond desire / or fear'. It was unveiled in 2009. Clarke participated in the exhibition ''Works on Paper'' (Crypt Gallery, London, 1–14 September 2014), showing 20 framed psalms (taken from his collection ''Psalms in the Vulgar Tongue''). Each piece is a handwritten manuscript in brown ink on stained wood with original poem. In 2016, a 'psalm card' artwork was permanently installed in the

Church of St Anselm and St Cecilia The Church of St Anselm and St Cecilia is a Roman Catholic church at 310 Kingsway, Holborn, London. It was built in about 1909, designed by Frederick Walters to replace the Sardinian Embassy Chapel which was demolished in order to make way for ...

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

, London. Also in 2016 a series of artworks was created under the title ''Host''. Each one is an original text printed on a large watercolour sheet left for one winter on a London rooftop. They are held in both public and private collections. In 2018 a very large book, ''Fallen'', was produced by Walter Newbury Ltd, London. Arranged in four sections, the book contains 16 poems (from ''Psalms in the Vulgar Tongue'') and 20 original artworks by Clarke (watercolour sheets marked purely by a season's weather). Housed in a strapped box, it measures 70 x 90 cm and weighs 30 kg. Made entirely by hand, it is the largest book ever made by the company. The item permanently resides at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Library (Modern Collections). Also in 2018, a framed psalm artwork was permanently installed at

Notre Dame de France Notre Dame de France is a French Catholic church in London's Soho. It is located on Leicester Place just north of Leicester Square. History The origins of the church date back to the mid 1800s, however, the building itself is older. In 1861, ...

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

, London. In 2020, ''Stations'', an artwork interpreting the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

in six clear cast acrylic blocks was completed. It was first exhibited at

. In

's novel '' From A to X'' (2008) Clarke appears as the character Hasan, a street sweeper and poet, living alone in a spare, unfurnished room.Clarke's name appears in the book's Acknowledgements list of names, under the headline: 'Nobody knows how a book comes about, but one can name precisely some of those who were essential to this mysterious process.' Clarke's copy of the book is inscribed by Berger: 'For Jeremy, with gratitude, admiration and love, John'. Clarke's long poem ''Music for Amen'' appeared in the anthology ''The Long White Thread of Words: Poems for John Berger'' (Smokestack Books, 2016). A collected work, ''Stone Hours'', was published by Rufus Books in April, 2024. Jeremy Clarke was Poet in Residence at

from 2010 to 2020.

References

External links

Interview with Jeremy Clarke in The Church Times, 11/03/11Recordings of Jeremy Clarke reading his own works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Jeremy 1962 births Living people British poets British male poets