Reading Philip Larkin: Selected Poems

John Gilroy

Jan 2009 · Humanities-Ebooks

About this ebook

Part 1, Life and Times, traces Larkin's early years and follows his development, within his career as a university librarian, into one of the most important and popular voices in twentieth-century poetry. Part 2, Artistic Strategies, explores a range of methodologies and aesthetic influences by which Larkin was able to create poetry at once both accessible and profound. Part 3, Reading Larkin, provides detailed critical commentary on many of the poems from his three major collections, The Less Deceived, The Whitsun Weddings and High Windows. Part 4, Reception, outlines the history of Larkin's reputation from the mid-1950s to the present, examining the debates and ideological confrontations to which his poetry has given rise.

About the author

John Gilroy took his BA at the University of Newcastle and his MPhil at the University of Warwick. He is co-author of A Commentary on Wordsworth's Prelude, Books 1-5 (London: RKP, 1983) and has contributed to various literary publications. He was senior lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge from 1974 until 2006, and is a course director for the University of Cambridge's residential and international programmes. He is the author of a study of Philip Larkin in this series.