The School in August
January 2006 Nomination: The School in August [1943 From Collected Poems (1988)] The School in August is, I think, the best of Larkin’s early poems, and the least typical.
Poem Reviews
Reference Back
December 2005 Nomination: Reference Back [21 August 1955. From The Whitsun Weddings] I love the way Larkin likens music to time, how he ‘bridges’ the gap so to
Faith Healing
November 2005 Nomination: Faith Healing [10 May 1960. From The Whitsun Weddings] “Moustached in flowered frocks they shake” is surely a line which perfectly describes feminine limitations. This
Butterflies
October 2005 Nomination: Butterflies [Winter? 1938–9. From Philip Larkin Early Poems & Juvenilia] The first time I read this poem I felt excited and baffled at the same
Love Songs in Age
September 2005 Nomination: Love Songs in Age [1 January 1957. From The Whitsun Weddings] I love this poem because its opening line reminds me so much of the
The Card Players
August 2005 Nomination: The Card Players [6 May 1970. From High Windows] The aspect of ‘The Card-Players’ that I find most beguiling is its celebration of raw, earthy
Dublinesque
July 2005 Nomination: Dublinesque [6 June 1970. From High Windows] Philip Larkin told Maeve Brennan that ‘Dublinesque’ was “a dream – I just woke up and described it”.
Cut Grass
June 2005 Nomination: Cut Grass [3 June 1971. From High Windows] This is sometimes thought as in some ways a companion piece to ‘The Trees’, Poem of the
The Trees
May 2005 Nomination: The Trees [2 June 1967. From High Windows] I love ‘The Trees’ because of the optimistic note on which it ends – optimism being, for
The Trees
May 2005 Nomination: The Trees [2 June 1967. From High Windows] I would like to nominate ‘The Trees’ for its mastery of versification and the nicely judged lingusitic
Sunny Prestatyn
April 2005 Nomination: Sunny Prestatyn [October 1962? From The Whitsun Weddings] Walking through the suburbs of the city and finding oneself strangely drawn to the graffiti on walls,
Lines on a Young Lady’s Photograph Album
February 2005 Nomination: Lines on a Young Lady’s Photograph Album [18 September 1953. From The Less Deceived] Since Poem of the Month has been going for so long
