Throughout Brilliant Imperfection, Clare draws upon the language and images of the natural world and environmental motifs. These include, but are not limited to: poems about shells and hermit crabs; passages about kayaking and cornfields; writings about exploited indigenous lands; comparisons of monocultures and eugenics; and also the use of the word “restoration” as it relates to tallgrass prairies.
Choose one of your favorite passages from Clare related to the environment (draw from one of the examples from above or your own). Describe what Clare is doing with ithow it works on its readers, how it facilitates the point Clare wants to make. Is the environmental object a metaphor here, or something very literal? Why do you think Clare engages with the environment so much in a book about cure, disability, health, and the body?
