Over the weekend of 13-15th September visitors to Stapleford Granary near Cambridge were treated to a wonderful combination of Larkin inspired events featuring poetry, talks, music and theatre against the backdrop of a retrospective exhibition of Larkin’s photographs initially put together as part of the 2010 Larkin25 celebrations.

Stapleford Granary is a thriving community  arts centre a few miles south of Cambridge in a gorgeous rural setting, with a  beautifully appointed interior, including an excellent café and a stunning concert room.

The weekend began with ‘Larkin’s England’, a selection of piano miniatures featuring English composers who were contemporaries of Larkin sympathetically interspersed with his poetry. The programme, put together by pianist Ian Buckle with the poems read by Jonathan Gunthorpe, offered  an excellent entrée to the weekend and was thoroughly appreciated by a capacity audience.

On Saturday, visitors to the photographic exhibition also had the opportunity to attend two talks each of which reflected aspects of Larkin’s artistic vision. Mark Haworth-Booth, who served as Curator of Photographs at the Victoria and Albert Museum  from 1970 to 2004, and wrote the foreword to The Importance of Elsewhere(Richard Bradford’s collection of Larkin photographs)  was in conversation with Stapleford Grange’s CEO, Kate Romano, and offered excellent insights on Larkin’s photography and how this related to his poetry. This was followed by a talk about Larkin’s drawings and doodles given by Philip Pullen, many of which will feature in a forthcoming publication.

 Lyn Lockwood and Gavin Hogg 

 Blessed by a gorgeously sunny Autumn morning, Sunday opened with a relaxed, informal event where visitors could sit and listen to recordings of Larkin reading his own poetry;  a wonderful soundscape which complemented the photographs displayed around the walls.

Finally we had ‘Larkin’s Blues’, a brilliantly performed piece of theatre featuring two key aspects of Larkin’s life; his relationship with jazz and his relationship with Monica Jones.

Narrated by Kate Romano and Jonathan Gunthorpe, with a script drawn from Larkin’s correspondence and jazz reviews, this gem of  a performance brought the curtain down on what had been an absolutely perfect weekend of Larkin indulgence.

Larkin’s photographs remain on display until Tuesday 24th September.

A further performance of ‘Larkin’s England’ will take place in Derby on Thursday 10th October. Click here for details.