Philip larkin biography summary examples

English poet, novelist and librarian (–)

For the Irish former hurler, see Phil Larkin.

Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August – 2 December ) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian.

His first book of poetry, The North Ship, was published in , followed by two novels, Jill () and A Girl in Winter ().

Philip larkin biography summary examples

He came to prominence in with the publication of his second collection of poems, The Less Deceived, followed by The Whitsun Weddings () and High Windows (). He contributed to The Daily Telegraph as its jazz critic from to , with his articles gathered in All What Jazz: A Record Diary –71 (), and edited The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse ().^[1] His many honours include the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.^[2] He was offered, but declined, the position of Poet Laureate in , following the death of Sir John Betjeman.

After graduating from Oxford University in with a first in English Language and Literature, Larkin became a