Commemorating Philip Larkin on 2nd December 2024

Every year the PLS holds a members only event on 2nd December to mark Larkin’s death at the age of 63 in 1985. These events have taken many different forms over the years but we always try to find a way to celebrate his work and to bring members of the society together to do so. This year we held the event online via Zoom for the first time which meant we were able to welcome members from across the country and from the US. Our special guest was Dave Lee (top left) who is a Hull based film maker. Dave played the films he has made of three Larkin poems, each of which narrated is by Sir Tom Courtenay, distinguished actor (Billy Liar, Dr Zhivago, Little Dorrit and many more), Hull native and PLS Honorary Vice President. The films feature ‘Here’, ‘Bridge for The Living’ and ‘This Be The Verse’ and are wonderfully evocative.


Dave talked us through some of the many fascinating stories around the filming, production and interpretation of the poems. It was a great evening. If you would like to see the films they are available on Dave’s You-Tube channel  

A recording of the event is now available on the PLS You-Tube channel.

Thank you to Phil and Graham for presenting, thank you to Dave to being such a fabulous guest, and thank you all the PLS members who joined us.

 

 

Stunning News!

Nick Cave, writer and musician, has done the Society the honour of accepting its invitation to join our distinguished and varied list of Honorary Vice Presidents.

In 2019, he was asked what his favourite poem was. Larkin’s ‘The Mower’, came the answer. There are deep and tragic reasons behind this choice which are partly explained in one of his Red Hand files (click here to read the whole text).

Larkin is a recurrent touchstone in Nick’s extensive literary references. And, in one of his most famous songs, ‘There she goes, my Beautiful World’, Larkin is named alongside Karl Marx, Gauguin and Dylan Thomas in an exquisitely crafted stanza as writers and artists beset by obstacles to creativity ( being ‘stuck in a library in Hull’ for Larkin).

Nick is a lover of poetry: ‘I have always read a lot of poetry. It’s part of my job as a songwriter. I try to read, at the very least, a half-hour of poetry a day, before I begin to do my own writing. It jimmies open the imagination, making the mind more receptive to metaphor and abstraction and serves as a bridge from the reasoned mind to a stranger state of alertness, in case that precious idea decides to drop by.’ Larkin is on his bookshelf, ready to help with his limbering up.

Nick accepted our invitation whilst warning that he ‘doesn’t consider himself an expert on Larkin’ and denies any ‘great knowledge or insight’. We beg to differ. Love of his poetry and constant engagement with it is a supreme qualification for an HVP and carries with it a particular, dazzling charge.

We are very grateful that Nick has agreed to lend his name to help our charitable cause of promoting knowledge and appreciation of Larkin’s work.

Christmas ideas at The Philip Larkin Society

Did you know that Larkin was a great present buyer? Contrary to popular belief, he was often the first person to organise gifts for his colleagues at the Brynmor Jones Library. The PLS has a fantastic range of Christmas cards, prints, bags, books and quirky stocking fillers that would be perfect for any poetry fan. All money raised from purchases goes towards our charitable aim to promote the understanding and appreciation of the work of Larkin and his contemporaries.

Click here to purchase from our online shop.