I dreamed of an out-thrust arm of land
April 2008 Nomination: I dreamed of an out-thrust arm of land [1943. From The North Ship] I used to be inclined to take Philip Larkin’s remark that his
Poem Reviews
Sinking like sediment through the day
March 2008 Nomination: Sinking like sediment through the day [13 May 1949. From Collected Poems (1988)] May 1949, the month this poem was written, found Larkin at an emotional
Could wish to lose hands
November 2007 Nomination: Could wish to lose hands [before September 1940. From Philip Larkin: Early Poems and Juvenilia] Many reviewers of Philip Larkin: Early Poems and Juvenil (Ed. A T
As Bad as a Mile
October 2007 Nomination: As Bad as a Mile [9 February 1960. From The Whitsun Weddings] When ‘As Bad as a Mile’ was first published in the University of
Neurotics
September 2006 Nomination: Neurotics [March–April 1949. From Collected Poems (1988)] What surprises me most about ‘Neurotics’ is that fact that its author doesn’t seem to have valued it very
Waiting for breakfast, while she brushed her hair
August 2006 Nomination: Waiting for breakfast, while she brushed her hair [15 December 1947. From XX Poems and The North Ship (1966)] Larkin famously divided his poems into the beautiful and
This Be The Verse
July 2006 Nomination: This Be The Verse [April ? 1971. From High Windows] For me, ‘This Be The Verse’, with its tort timing and unambiguous accessibility, epitomizes all
Posterity
June 2006 Nomination: Posterity [17 June 1968. From High Windows] There are so many of Philip Larkin’s poems I could select as my poem of the month, but
Aubade
May 2006 Nomination: Aubade [29 November 1977. The Times Literary Supplement 23 December 1977] ‘Aubade’ was published in the Times Literary Supplement in December, 1977. Regarded as his last great poem,
Sunny Prestatyn
April 2006 Nomination: Sunny Prestatyn [October 1962? From The Whitsun Weddings] ‘Sunny Prestatyn’ from Larkin’s second collection The Whitsun Weddings is perhaps the nearest he gets to pop-art and in
Church Going
March 2006 Nomination: Church Going [28 July 1954. From The Less Deceived] ‘Church Going’, from Larkin’s 1955 collection The Less Deceived, stands out as a masterpiece of rhetoric, introducing
The Building
February 2006 Nomination: The Building [9 February 1972. From High Windows] Looking down the list of previously chosen ‘Poems of the Month’ it was no surprise to find
