John Clare out of Copyright

• Published in: John Clare Society Journal no. 43; pp. 59 - 62
• Main Author: Kovėsi, Simon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Birmingham John Clare Society 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Blogs; Clare, John (1793-1864); Copyright; Editors; Libraries; Musical recordings; Poets; Publishing; Thailand; Bangkok Thailand

Not only had Robinson appointed himself gatekeeper to Clare's work, but his copyright claim was used to defend one version of the work - the politics of editing Clare's non-standard English is contested ground - and it prevented other scholars from presenting alternative selections and editorial versions of Clare. The Society's president, the late Ronald Blythe, rebuffed the attempt.5 Robinson's last public word on the copyright issue was in 2003 in the Guardian: in 'respect of these [unpublished] works', he asserted, 'only I can lawfully publish them.'6 He died in 2019, and things became more confusing for the libraries housing the manuscripts, as they had no idea to whom they should direct people seeking to publish Clare's work. NOTES With thanks to LRB Senior Editor Thomas Jones, and the London Review of Books, for permission to reprint this blog, first published 18 January 2024, <https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2024/january/johnclare-out-of-copyright>.