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Poem Reviews

At Grass

May 2012 Nomination: At Grass [3 January 1950. From The Less Deceived (1955)] This poem reminds me forcibly of Philip’s strong attachment to the RSPCA and his utter loathing

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Afternoons

April 2012 Nomination: Afternoons [September 1959. From The Whitsun Weddings] This poem was written when Philip Larkin lived in his top flat in Pearson Park in Hull. He

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The Building

March 2012 Nomination: The Building [9 February 1972. From High Windows] Having suffered a minor stroke at the beginning of the month, I spent the first two weeks

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Ambulances

February 2012 Nomination: Ambulances [10 January 1961. From The Less Deceived] Rather like ‘Aubade’, this poem is a portrait of Larkin’s fear and contemplation of death. Yet it

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I Remember, I Remember

January 2012 Nomination: I Remember, I Remember [8 January 1954. From The Less Deceived] Although Philip Larkin and I come from different worlds and diffferent decades, we share

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Winter Nocturne

December 2011 Nomination: Winter Nocturne [December 1938. From Collected Poems (1988)] My choice reflects the month of shorter days, Philip Larkin’s first published poem, now 73 years old in

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Street Lamp

November 2011 Nomination: Street Lamps [September 1939. From Collected Poems (1988)] With so many superb mature works available, why have I chosen a poem written when Larkin was a

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The Trees

October 2011 Nomination: The Trees [2 June 1967. From High Windows] ‘The Trees’ is a poem that I have always enjoyed because it immediately resonates with one of

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Breadfruit

September 2011 Nomination: Breadfruit [19 November 1961. From Collected Poems (1988)] This is a poem that proclaims itself Larkin’s in many ways: by theme, by style and most delightfully

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Days

July 2011 Nomination: Days [3 August 1953. From The Whitsun Weddings] As Director of the Philip Larkin Centre I am always pleased to discover new writing that spins

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Love

June 2011 Nomination: Love [7 December 1962. From Collected Poems 1988] In 1981 my father died very suddenly and my mother came to stay with me for a few

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