The John Clare Society Journal
Style Sheet
Introduction
The John Clare Society Journal is a 96-page, annual publication which publishes
scholarly and other material to advance the study of the English poet John Clare
(1793-1864). Prospective contributors should obtain and browse through recent back
copies of the Journal, to gain a sense of the range of approaches and styles it
encompasses. These are available for £5 (sterling) each, plus postage, from The John
Clare Society (address below). Sample essays from each of the last few numbers of
the Journal are also available on the Clare web page (details below). The Journal
itself is printed and produced to a very high standard, using good-quality cream paper,
with a stitched, softbound format. it is distributed free to the 500+ members of the
John Clare Society, so it has a large general readership as well as an academic one,
and this affects its presentation and general stance in a number of ways. First, we
include some popular, creative and other ‘first-person’ responses to Clare, of a high
quality, but nevertheless of a kind not usually seen in scholarly journals. Second, we
require an accessible writing style, so that all our readers can gain some benefit from
the more scholarly work. Third, we may sometimes rule out work that, although in
itself of high quality, does not suit the particular ‘mix’ of the Journal. It follows that
having a piece rejected by the Clare Journal does not always mean that it is poor
work. It may mean that it would be better published elsewhere.
Refereeing
All work submitted to the Journal for publication is refereed by at least two suitably
qualified readers, and this is done as far as possible ‘blind’, i.e. the readers will not
have prior access to each other’s comments, nor will they know the name of the
contributor (unless identification is unavoidable). This is designed to ensure the
fairest and most scrupulous assessment. The editor will retain final arbitration, but
will not publish anything which has received a significantly negative referee’s report
without seeking relevant revision by the author, and / or further reports.
Lead-in time and rejection rates
The current lead-in time for the Journal is 1-2 years (i.e. the next or next-but-one
number), with a modest rejection rate (perhaps 25-30%, at present). We publish a
mixture of commissioned and submitted materials, so it is always worth sending in
Clare-related material ‘cold’.
Conventions and presentation
The writing must be clear and straightforward to follow, with obscure and technical
terminology kept to a minimum and explained where appropriate (see also
introduction, above). As a general rule (but with some flexibility), the Journal follows
Modern Humanities Research Association conventions, as set out in the MHRA Style
Book, fifth edition (1996), available from W.S. Maney and Son Ltd., Hudson Rd.,
Leeds LS9 7DL, UK (phone: 0113 2497 481), available to download here:
http://www.mhra.org.uk/Publications/Books/StyleGuide/download.shtml
As it is a British journal, single quotation marks and British spelling are preferred.
Typeface, block quotations, font size, etc., are not critical, but you should use a
legible, standard, typeface, and double-space your work. Submissions may be made
by e-mail attachment sent to the editor. We can also accept neatly typed work. Once it
has been accepted, work should be submitted electronically as well as on paper if
possible.
Abbreviations and citation
We have a set of standard abbreviations for Clare-related books, which develops from
year to year as new publications appear. The current version is appended below. For
other citations, the name and short-title system is preferred. For example, for a first
citation:
John Barrell, The Idea of Landscape and the Sense of Place 1730-1840: An
Approach to the Poetry of John Clare (London: Cambrudge University Press,
1972), pp. 13-14.
For subsequent citations:
Barrell, Idea of Landscape, pp. 20-2.
Where a reference can be bracketed within the text without causing disruption to the
reader, it should be so kept.
We use endnotes rather than footnotes, but these must be kept well under control,
especially substantive ones. Footnote reference numbers should be set in superscript
and immediately following the appropriate word or punctuation mark (i.e. without
spaces).
Editions, textual and factual accuracy
It is important to use the most up-to-date and scholarly editions, as standards of
textual accuracy continue to improve. In particular, recent editions of Clare's writings
are preferred to older editions; and even for fairly recent editions, the latest should be
used. For example the 1993 edition of The Shepherd's Calendar should be used, not
the 1964; and John Clare By Himself (1996) should be used in preference to John
Clare’s Autobiographical Writings (1983). (A ‘conversion chart’ for this last change
is available in the 'indexes' section of the Clare web page, as it affects so much Clare
scholarship.) Given the recnet intense debate over the editorial presentation of Clare,
however, we do adopt a generally flexible approach to the question of editions.
On the question of factual accuracy, contributors are warned that most of the
biographies of Clare are not to be relied upon without independent confirmation from
other scholarly or archival sources. There has always been a great deal of
‘mythologising’ about Clare and his life: Frederick Martin’s biography contains many
notorious examples. Caution is urged.
Word limits
There are no set limits: we work to the general principle that each word must ‘earn its
keep’. However, typical lengths are as follows:
For an article:
For a book review:
For a review essay:
2,000-6000 words
500-2,000 words
2,500-4,000 words
Occasionally we run longer articles of 7,000-9,000 words, where there is a major
advance in Clare studies which merits extended treatment. We have also included a
few shorter pieces. A usual article length, however, will be 3,000 words.
Sizes & statistical information
The overall (external) Journal size is 215 x 150 mm
The actual page size (i.e. excluding margins) is 180 x 110 mm
Averages
Article line length:
Article page length:
Article titles:
70 characters or about 12 words
42 lines or about 400-450 words
9 lines
Review line length:
40 characters wide or about 6-7 words
Review page length:
50 lines, or about 600-630 words in two columns
Review main title:
4 lines over 2 columns
Review individual titles:
2-3 lines plus 5 for name and space at end
Review essays
about 615 words per page
Illustrations and adverts
We welcome the submission of suitable high-quality illustrations and adverts, in
monotone (we can reproduce grey-tones fairly effectively). They should be submitted
either in high-resolution camera-ready printed form or on disc in a suitable
program/format. Illustrations will be credited. Adverts are priced as follows: full page
£60, half-page £30, quarter-page £15.
Addresses and contact details
The John Clare Society Journal (general editorial, advertising and miscellaneous
queries), contact: Dr Simon Kővesi, Dept of English, Oxford Brookes University,
Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK. phone: [0]1865 483587. fax: [0]1865 484082. e-mail:
skovesi@brookes.ac.uk
The John Clare Society (membership details, back copies of the Journal and other
sales materials), contact: Peter Moyse, The John Clare Society, The Stables, 1A West
St, Helpston, Peterborough PE6 7DU, UK. phone [0]1733-252678.
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The John Clare Society Journal
Current abbreviations
BY HIMSELF John Clare By Himself, ed. Eric Robinson and David Powell
(Ashington and Manchester: Mid-NAG and Carcanet, 1996)
COTTAGE TALES John Clare, Cottage Tales, ed. Eric Robinson, David Powell
and P.M.S. Dawson (Ashington and Manchester: Mid-NAG and Carcanet, 1993)
CRITICAL HERITAGE Clare: the Critical Heritage, ed. Mark Storey (London:
Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1973)
DEACON George Deacon, John Clare and the Folk Tradition (London: Sinclair
Browne, 1983)
EARLY POEMS (I-II) The Early Poems of John Clare, ed. Eric Robinson, David
Powell and Margaret Grainger (two volumes, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989)
HAUGHTON Hugh Haughton, Adam Phillips, and Geoffrey Summerfield (eds.),
John Clare in Context (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994)
JCSJ The John Clare Society Journal (1981-)
LATER POEMS The Later Poems of John Clare, ed. Eric Robinson, David
Powell and Margaret Grainger (two volumes, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984)
LETTERS The Letters of John Clare, ed. Mark Storey (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1985)
MIDDLE PERIOD (I-II) John Clare, Poems of the Middle Period 1822-1837, ed.
Eric Robinson, David Powell, and P.M.S. Dawson (two volumes, Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1996); III-IV (1998)
MIDSUMMER CUSHION John Clare, The Midsummer Cushion, ed. Kelsey
Thornton and Anne Tibble (Ashington and Manchester: Mid-NAG and Carcanet,
revised edition, 1990)
NATURAL HISTORY The Natural History Prose Writings of John Clare, ed.
Margaret Grainger (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983)
NORTHBOROUGH SONNETS John Clare, Northborough Sonnets, ed. Eric
Robinson, David Powell, and P.M.S. Dawson (Ashington and Manchester: MidNAG and Carcanet, 1995)
OXFORD AUTHORS The Oxford Authors: John Clare, ed. Eric Robinson and
David Powell (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984)
PROSE The Prose of John Clare, ed. J.W. and Anne Tibble (London: Routledge
& Kegan Paul, 1951, reprinted 1970)
SHEPHERD'S CALENDAR John Clare, The Shepherd's Calendar, ed. Eric
Robinson, Geoffrey Sumerfield, and David Powell (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, revised edition, 1993)
SUMMERFIELD John Clare, Selected Poetry, ed. Geoffrey Summerfield
(London: Penguin, 1990)
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