An Arundel Tomb
May 2011 Nomination: An Arundel Tomb [20 February 1956. From The Whitsun Weddings] This month marks the 5th anniversary of my father – David Rees’ death. Dad was
Poem Reviews
Toads Revisited
April 2011 Nomination: Toads Revisited [October 1962. From The Whitsun Weddings] ‘Toads Revisited’ is a favourite of mine from the seminal The Whitsun Weddings collection. On reading it again, and
The Mower
March 2011 Nomination: The Mower [12 June 1979. From Collected Poems 1988] p>I would like to nominate ‘The Mower’, partly because I have an unaccountable interest in old mowers,
A Study of Reading Habits
February 2011 Nomination: A Study of Reading Habits [20 August 1960. From The Whitsun Weddings] I was fifteen when I found ‘A Study of Reading Habits’ in an
The Whitsun Weddings
January 2011 Nomination: The Whitsun Weddings [18 October 1958. From The Whitsun Weddings] The line ‘we ran behind the backs of houses, crossed a street of blinding windscreens’
Wants
December 2010 Nomination: Wants [1 June 1950. From The Less Deceived] This is the poem that Larkin intones at the end of the Monitor film made with Betjeman in 1964.
Reference Back
November 2010 Nomination: Reference Back [21 August 1955. From The Whitsun Weddings] One (NB: one) of my favourite Larkin poems (they tend to change depending on my mood, the
Days
October 2010 Nomination: Days [3 August 1953. From The Whitsun Weddings] I first read Larkin poems at secondary school in the early 1980s in an anthology called This Day
The Trees
September 2010 Nomination: The Trees [2 June 1967. From High Windows] I have chosen ‘The Trees’, which I first published in the New Statesman when I was literary editor, on
The Dance
August 2010 Nomination: The Dance [30 June 1963–12 May 1964. From Collected Poems (1988)] On 15 February 2010, I received an email from Andy Newlove, the owner of Fairview
Is it for now or for always
July 2010 Nomination: Is it for now or for always [1943-4. From The North Ship (1945)] ‘It’s very difficult to write about being happy.’ Larkin’s words in an interview
How to Sleep
June 2010 Nomination: How to Sleep [10 March 1950. From Collected Poems (1988)] Blessed are those whose heads hit the pillow and then sleep like stones until morning. Most
