Monday 20th October ‘Meet The Members’ Zoom

On Monday 20th October we shall be holding another of our popular ‘Meet The Members’ online events in which PLS members and trustees get a chance to talk about ‘all things Larkin’. One of the topics will be proposal to start up a Larkin Book Group. Members will receive a Zoom invite by email.

Saturday 15 November 11.00-16.00

Drawing and Tarling: A Larkin Day at the Hull History Centre

We are excited to be working with Hull History Centre to offer a chance to explore Larkin through the medium of drawing alongside his own connections with the local art world of his time.

11:00 – 14:00
Picturing Larkin: drawing objects from the archive of Philip Larkin

Arrangements of objects and clothes from the archive of Philip Larkin will be displayed for you to draw or paint. This session will be led by Peter Eaves, archivist at Hull History Centre who leads a local life-drawing group. Artists of all ages and abilities welcome. Basic materials will be provided.

15:00 – 16:00
Larkin and Ted Tarling

Larkin and Hull’s Ted Tarling had a lot in common: a love of jazz, a passion for the printed word (especially poetry), mutual friendships and a shared interest in simple melancholy art. Their limited exchange of correspondence shows deep respect for each other. The talk, given by PLS Chair, Professor Graham Chesters,  is a brief introduction to a rich field of research.

For booking details click here. 

The 2026 Philip Larkin Society Conference -Call For Papers

Our next conference will be held at the University of Hull from 19-20th March 2026 and will celebrate the eightieth Anniversary of  the publication of Larkin’s first novel, Jill (1946). We are delighted to announced that poet Ros Barber will be joining us as the first of two
keynote speakers.

It is 1946 and Larkin has, in September, been appointed Assistant Librarian at University
College of Leicester. There, he first meets Monica Jones. In the following month, Jill is
published with The Fortune Press. The Second World War ended a year prior, and the welfare
state is in full swing, and with it, crucial legislation on education has been passed. This year
we celebrate the 80th anniversary of Jill.

Building on the successful programme of our 2022 and 2024 conferences, we will present a
range of approaches to Larkin’s work with contributors from across the arts and academic
landscape. We do not wish to confine this conference to academic research and though this is
very welcomed, we invite presenters to respond to Larkin’s work in a variety of ways. This
might include seminars, music, or the performing arts. We are an inclusive society and would
like to encourage submissions from people of all backgrounds and approaches. We are also
looking for ways to actively support and promote undergraduate and postgraduate
involvement.

Contributors are not expected to confine their approaches to Jill. We would be interested too
in broader presentations that explore Larkin’s two published novels as well as his
comparatively vast body of poetry, letters, journalism. Submissions on Larkin’s early poetry,
poems written “[a]t an age when self-importance would have been normal”, are also
encouraged. This might include a focus on Larkin the novelist, on the novels produced by his
contemporaries (John Wain, Kingsley Amis, John Braine etc.), the opportunity to use Jill as a
starting point for a discussion of Larkin’s work, or indeed wider social issues that the novel
touches on.

Currently the proposed format is 4 panels over two days, each consisting of 3×20 minute papers and
symposia/discussion forums, alongside the keynote speakers and performances. Speakers are
welcome to speak for longer than the allotted 20 minutes, but must specify their reason for
wishing to do so.

Proposals (up to 300 words) should be submitted to
philiplarkinsocietyconference@gmail.com by 1st December, 2025. For academic or research
based queries, please contact Daniel Vince (PLS Trustee) at d.d.vince63@gmail.com. For
non-academic or creative enquiries, travel, funding and accommodation, please email Lyn
Lockwood (Deputy Chair of the PLS) at lynlockwood70@yahoo.co.uk

Booking details and Early Bird registration prices are now available via this link.