Resources:     Biography  Criticism  Miscellaneous    Books about Larkin Biography Generation Terrorists The most helpful biographical information on Larkin can be found at this site, which has interesting biographies on many other writers as well. University of Hull For more biographical information on Larkin, go to the University of Hull Library Archives.  It has a brief but thorough biographical sketch of Larkin, focusing predominantly on his literary career. The Coventry (Larkin's birthplace) and Warwickshire Network This site has a timeline of Larkin's professional and personal life, which is very useful for getting ideas about the connections between his life and his art. Back to top   Criticism   High Talk: Influences from the British Isles This is an article from the Academy of Poets website. It details the influence of contemporary British poets on contemporary American poets.  It includes information on such poets as William Butler Yeats, Dylan Thomas, and of course, Philip Larkin. The article provides details on the literary contributions of each poet, as well as details on each poet's literary persona. High Windows and Four-letter Words This is an article from the Boston Review about the use of curse words in Larkin's poems, concentrating on the High Windows collection and the poem of the same title.  The article suggests that such words are a crucial element of Larkin's poetic lexicon.  Link to the poem "High Windows." Political Correctness: Robert Bly and Philip Larkin From Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government site. A transcript from novelist Martin Amis's speech about political correctness. The first part of the speech focuses on Robert Bly but eventually he gets to Philip Larkin. Amis is incredibly critical of Larkin's writing as well as his personal life, possibly because he is the son of Kingsley Amis, who was Larkin's close colleague. If you want to know more about Larkin from a critical perspective, this is a must-read.  Philip Larkin: A Very English Poet This article, from the British arts newspaper Caffeine, discusses the accusations of racism, misogyny, and elitism that were targeted at Larkin after the posthumous publication of his personal correspondence. The writer, Alistair Ward, suggests that these accusations are overblown and that Larkin was representative of British poetic sensibilites. A Tribute to the late poet Philip Larkin Craig Raine's obituary of Philip Larkin, from the Books Unlimited site. This is a brief, but interesting retrospective of Larkin's life, written shortly after his death in 1985. Back to top Miscellaneous Sites Quotes from Larkin's poetry and interviews There are only a few quotes here, but they offer a fairly good idea about Larkin's view of poetry, other poets and the teaching of poetry in the academy. Larkin on reading poetry aloud As with many issues in politics and poetry, Larkin had a perspective on reading aloud that differed from that of other poets and scholars.  Here, he declares that reading poetry out loud is not really essential to the understanding of a poem, yet he does suggest that reading aloud can deepen one's appreciation of a poem. Radiohead and Philip Larkin Apparently, Larkin is the poet of choice for the rock band Radiohead.  The title of their song, "Lozenge of Love," is taken from a line in Larkin's "Sad Steps," which can be found in the High Windows collection. Back to top Books about Philip Larkin Philip Larkin: The Man and His Work. Dale Salwak (editor), 1989. Philip Larkin: His Life's Work. Janice Rossen, 1990. A Writer's Life. Andrew Motion, 1993. Philip Larkin. Stephen Regan (editor), 1997. Larkin's Blues: Jazz, Popular Music & Poetry. BJ Leggett, 1999. New Larkins for Old: Critical Essays. James Booth (editor), 2000. All of these books should be available from amazon.com.                     Back to top

 

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