Facts about Philip Larkin

1. 13

   Born in Coventry in 1922, Philip Larkin studied English at St John's College, Oxford, where he formed a lasting friendship with Kingsley Amis.

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2. 12

   Larkin's 1945 poem "Days" consists of only 10 lines yet ranks among his most anthologized and quoted works, distilling his philosophy of existence into one of modern poetry's most concise meditations.

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3. 11

   Larkin's 1963 collection The Whitsun Weddings contained 32 poems written over approximately eight years, averaging just four poems annually during what many considered his most productive period.

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4. 10

   Larkin's correspondence with Monica Jones, his longtime partner, comprised over 6,000 letters written across five decades, revealing an intimate emotional life starkly at odds with his detached public persona.

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5. 09

   Larkin's 1955 poem "This Be The Verse" opens with the line "They fuck you up, your mum and dad," making it one of the first major published poems to begin with profanity in twentieth-century British literature.

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6. 08

   Larkin's collection High Windows published in 1974 contains only 32 poems across 52 pages, making it one of the slimmest volumes by a major twentieth-century poet.

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7. 07

   Larkin's only novel, A Girl in Winter, published in 1947, won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1955 but he wrote no fiction thereafter, focusing exclusively on poetry for the next three decades.

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8. 06

   Two thousand copies of Larkin's manuscript for High Windows were discovered in his Hull apartment after his 1985 death, containing previously unpublished poems alongside drafts and notes.

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9. 05

   Larkin's jazz criticism column appeared weekly in The Spectator for over 20 years, revealing his passionate engagement with American bebop and swing alongside his literary career.

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10. 04

    In 1974, Philip Larkin refused the Laureateship offer from the Queen, declining the position of Poet Laureate after Ted Hughes turned it down.

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11. 03

    During the 1960s, Philip Larkin wrote fewer than 30 poems despite being at the height of his literary reputation and creative powers.

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12. 02

    Larkin's poetry collection The Less Deceived sold only 3,000 copies in its first decade, yet became canonical in British literature despite its initial commercial failure.

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13. 01

    From 1955 to 1972, Philip Larkin served as librarian at the University of Hull, a position he held for 17 years while writing his most celebrated poetry.

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