Authors :

Philip Larkin [828 LAR]

The most complete collection of the poetry is the Collected Poems, edited by Anthony Thwaite, 1988. Poems are arranged in two sections with the later poems in the first section; within sections poems are in chronological order, many of them poems that Larkin did not himself publish or collect in volumes. The individual volumes (most important starred) are:

  • The North Ship, 1945; *The Less Deceived, Hull, 1955; *The Whitsun Weddings, 1964; *High Windows, 1974.
  • Larkin wrote two novels; both are worth reading and have a bearing on the poetry: Jill, 1946, A Girl in Winter, 1947

For Larkin's views on literature, consult his Required Writing: Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982, 1983, and on modernism (and jazz) see the opening pages especially of All What Jazz: A Record Diary 1961-68, 1970, revised 1985. His choice of modern poetry, much criticized for timidity by his critics, will be found in The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse, 1973 [828.108 OXF].

Much can be learned from a reading of the entertaining and scandalous Selected Letters of Philip Larkin, edited by Anthony Thwaite, 1992, and from Andrew Motion's revelatory biography Philip Larkin: A Writer's Life, 1993 [828 LAR/M]

Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin were at the same Oxford college and remained close friends. It is worth comparing Larkin with what is to be found in Amis's Collected Poems [Univ.Lib.]. Royal Holloway has A Case of Samples, Poems 1946-1956, 1956 [828 AMI]. Larkin admired the poetry of John Betjeman, and his Collected Poems is also worth looking at. We have the 1962 edition [828 BET].

Classmarks for Royal Holloway library are given in square brackets. To check our holdings of these books, and to reserve items on short loan, log into ALEPH here.

See:

  • James Booth, Philip Larkin: Writer, 1992 [828 LAR/B]
  • Andrew Motion, Philip Larkin, 1982 [828 LAR/M]. A short critical book, not to be confused with Motion's biography of the poet.
  • Stephen Regan, Philip Larkin, 1992. A book in the 'Critics Debate' series, excellent for its account of the controversy around Larkin's poems arising since his death.
  • Stephen Regan, ed., Philip Larkin, 1997. A 'New Casebook': not too theoretical, good cross-section of views. Steve Clark's piece is difficult but interesting.
  • Andrew Swarbrick, Out of Reach: The Poetry of Philip Larkin, 1995 [828 LAR/S]. A little too long, but careful and sensitive.
  • Thwaite, Anthony, ed., Larkin at Sixty, 1982 [828 LAR/T]. Mainly cosy reminiscence, but there is a good essay by Christopher Ricks. [P]
  • Barbara Everett, Poets in Their Time: Essays on English Poetry from Donne to Larkin, 1986 [820.1 EVE]. Two first-rate essays on the poet.
  • George Hartley, ed., Philip Larkin, 1922-1985: A Tribute, 1988. [828 LAR/P] A very mixed collection of poems and criticism, but interesting for the variety of poets represented.
  • Tom Paulin, 'She Did not Change: Philip Larkin' in Minotaur: Poetry and the Nation State, 1992. [809.1932 PAU] [P]. A hostile account of the poetry from a younger poet.
  • Michael Baron, ed., Larkin with Poetry, 1997. Good essays by James Booth and Marion Lomax (on Larkin and women).
  • Marjorie Perloff, 'What to Make of a Diminished Thing', Parnassus 19.2, 1994, 9-30. An outraged review of the Selected Letters and Motion's biography. Is it relevant to the poems? Photocopy in library.
  • Ian Hamilton, 'Four Conversations', The London Magazine, 4.8, November 1964. Four interviews with poets; the one with Larkin is interesting and quite revealing. [P]

Follow this link to the Coventry and Warwickshire Network's Philip Larkin page, which contains further biographical and bibliographical information, and useful links to the Philip Larkin Society and other sites.

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