Daniel Vince joined the PLS board of trustees earlier this year and is currently studying for a Masters by research on the post-war novel at the University of York having graduated from Canterbury Christ Church University earlier this year. He is also an antiquarian book seller and can often be found hunting down rare and wonderful books. When the Barbara Pym Society invited a member of the PLS to present a paper at their AGM in Oxford this year, Daniel bravely took up the challenge. Daniel spea...
Oct 21, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Dr Sam Perry teaches English Literature at the University of Hull, where he is a member of the Philip Larkin Centre for Poetry & Creative Writing. He is the author of Chameleon Poet: R.S. Thomas and the Literary Tradition (Oxford University Press) and is currently working on a long- term project exploring the representation of children and childhood in modern poetry. Other writers discussed/mentioned: WB Yeats/Ted Hughes/Edward Thomas/ RS Thomas/Seamus Heaney/ William Wordsworth/William ...
Sep 23, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Welcome to a very special episode of Tiny In All That Air, celebrating Philip Larkin's 100th birthday. This episode has been made with the generous help of many of our fantastic honorary vice presidents, who have many different connections with Philip Larkin, the man and the writer: former secretary of State for Health and Social care, Alan Johnson; Larkin biographer, friend and literary executor Andrew Motion; writer David Quantick; writer Ann Thwaite; academic and magician Dale Salwak; artist ...
Aug 09, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 34
This is the King Henry VIII School, Coventry takeover! Led by the school's Librarian and Archivist Helen Cooper, and introduced by former Head of English Sheila Woolf, the pupils of Larkin's former school in Coventry have recorded a fascinating short fictional play written by Fred Holland that explores the Larkin family during Word War II. Helen Cooper and Phil Pullen (Chair of Larkin100 and Larkin researcher) join Lyn to discuss the writing and performance of the play, as well as exploring the ...
Jun 03, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 33
In this episode, Lyn talks to Emeritus AC Bradley Professor of Modern Literature at Liverpool University Kelvin Everest and writer, lecturer and poet Dr Jane Bluett, who is the poetry editor for English In Education. Monica and Philip met in Leicester in 1947, and although Philip soon left Leicester for Belfast and then Hull, Monica stayed as a lecturer at Leicester University for the next 34 years until her retirement. Their life long love affair was a source of great joy and great anguish for ...
May 07, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 32
In this episode, Lyn talks to Deb Fisher, Chair of the Barbara Pym Society and writer and actor Triona Adams, also a member of the Barbara Pym Society. We discuss how it was Larkin who initiated the friendship between the two writers in 1961 when he wrote a letter to Pym admiring her novels. Both Oxford graduates, and resolutely unmarried, they communicated by letter for 14 years until they finally met in person at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford. In 1977, the Times Literary Supplement printed an a...
Apr 15, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 31
In this episode, Lyn is joined by writer, comedian and BBC radio presenter John Robins, PLS Treasurer Thomas Gordon and writer and musician Robin Allender. The conversation focuses on some of Robin and John's favourite Larkin poems, such as Deceptions and I Remember, I Remember and their huge knowledge and love for Larkin's work. Poems discussed: Sad Steps, High Windows, The Whitsun Weddings, Absences, Here, Livings, The Building, How, Dockery and Son, An Arundel Tomb, Deceptions, Afternoons, My...
Mar 18, 2022•1 hr 38 min•Season 1Ep. 30
In this episode, Lyn talks to Dr James Underwood, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Huddersfield and Deputy Director of the Ted Hughes Network. James's book Early Larkin (2021) reveals so many aspects of Larkin's less well known writing and charts Larkin's growth into the towering poet he eventually became. We look at poems, letters and prose, and how Larkin shaped his world through his writing. Larkin poems referred to- -Livings, Dockery and Son, The Whitsun Weddings, A...
Jan 28, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 29
In this episode, PLS trustee and Larkin100 Chair Philip Pullen and PLS trustee and merchandise officer Rachael Galletly join Lyn to reflect back on 2021, look ahead to 2022, read some poetry and talk Larkin. Larkin poems/novels discussed- Toads, Toads Revisited, The Whitsun Weddings, Show Saturday, High Windows, The Old Fools and Dockery and Son. Other writers and references: Philip Larkin In New Orleans from Anthony Thwaite’s Selected Poems 1956-1996 (Enitharmon Press, 2002), John Sutherland Mo...
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 28
In this episode, Joe James from the Right In The Schoolies podcast and PLS Trustee Alex Howard talk to Lyn about their definitions of horror and where they see horror in Larkin's writing. Larkin poems/novels discussed- High Windows, Sunny Prestatyn, The Old Fools, At Grass, Aubade, Mr Bleaney, Ambulances, The Building, If, My Darling, Jill, Love Again. Other writers and references: Paradise Lost by John Milton (1667), the work of Stephen King, the Metaphysical Poets, Oscar Wilde, 'the Seven ages...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 27
The Society is looking forward to the Centenary celebrations next year, but we wanted to mark what would have been Larkin's 99th birthday this year by reading his poems. The readings have been recorded and submitted by PLS society members, trustees, honorary vice presidents and podcast listeners from across the world. Larkin was famously reluctant to read his poems in public, but we hope listeners enjoy hearing his words being read out loud. Please raise a glass and join us with our birthday cel...
Aug 16, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 26
The Society is looking forward to the Centenary celebrations next year, but we wanted to mark what would have been Larkin's 99th birthday this year by reading his poems. The readings have been recorded and submitted by PLS society members, trustees, honorary vice presidents and podcast listeners from across the world. Larkin was famously reluctant to read his poems in public, but we hope listeners enjoy hearing his words being read out loud. Please raise a glass and join us with our birthday cel...
Aug 09, 2021•59 min•Season 1Ep. 25
The Philip Larkin Society has a formal structure which helps us to run effectively. This has allowed us to appoint a President (Anthony Thwaite 1930-2021) and a number of honorary vice-presidents. HVPs support the charity both publicly and behind the scenes and generously lend their name to our work. Recently we have been able to appoint some new HVPs, three of whom we speak to in this episode. Rosie Millard, journalist and University of hull Alumnus, sculptor Martin Jennings and writer David Qu...
Jul 23, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Larkin has a rather curious place in the academic world- a little bit on the edge of things (maybe that’s how he would have liked it?). Lyn chats to Dr Alex Howard, Dr Kyra Piperides and Clarissa Hard who are all at different stages of their doctoral studies on Larkin’s writing. Alex and Clarissa have recently become new trustees of the Philip Larkin Society. We also have a reading of Church Going from PLS member Joe James. Poems discussed: Aubade, High Windows, Take One Home for the Kiddies, My...
Jun 18, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Philip Larkin was not just a poet, he was also a jazz journalist. His collected articles can be found in All What Jazz: A Record Diary 1961–1971 . (Faber and Faber. 1985). Larkin's love of jazz was less prominent in his poetry, but one poem stands out as a startling 'love song' to New Orleans - For Sidney Bechet , (to be found in The Whitsun Weddings, 1964). In this episode we tell the fascinating story of saxophonist Sidney Bechet and how his life and music interwove with that of Larkin's. We h...
May 14, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Professor Zachary Leader is Professor of English Literature at the University of Roehampton. He grew up in California but has lived in Britain for over forty years. He was educated at Northwestern University, Trinity College, Cambridge and Harvard and is the author of several books including Reading Blake's Songs, Writer's Block, Revision and Romantic Authorship. In 2000 Harper Collins published his edited Letters of Kingsley Amis followed by a highly regarded biography of Amis before he turned ...
Apr 16, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Phil Pullen (Larkin researcher and chair of Larkin100) and Rachael Galletly (PLS Trustee) join us to discuss Larkin poems that are either about or are directly addressed to specific people in his life; Eva Larkin, Kingsley Amis and Winifred Arnott. We also find out about Larkin’s attitude to summer, his favourite poetic phrase, Kingsley Amis’s wilder moments, what book Rachael nicked from a library, and who made Philip Larkin ‘yowl’. Mother, Summer, I, Heads on the Women’s Ward, Reference Back, ...
Mar 19, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 20
The second of our two podcasts with a John Betjeman focus, our guest is writer and railway historian Greg Morse . Topics include Betjeman and Larkin’s relationship with the media, twentieth century architecture and cultural history and, of course, lots of poetry, both Larkin and Betjeman. Larkin poems mentioned: Church Going, Whitsun Weddings, High Windows, This Be The Verse, Toads, Essential Beauty, Home is So Sad, High Windows. Betjeman poems mentioned: Executive, A Lincolnshire Church, Death ...
Feb 19, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Anne O'Neill and Julian Henry are newer members of the Philip Larkin Society team and many people will have already been feeling the benefit of their fantastic work on the PL Instagram page. Julian is also a trustee and is now supporting the society committee and its planning and events work. Anne is based in County Kerry and Julian in Oxford. We got together to talk about Larkin in the media, Twitter, Instagram, radio and television and Anne and Julian talk about their route into Larkin, their ...
Jan 22, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Lyn and Rachael look back on the events of 2020 in the PLS world. This episode also includes contributions from Professor Graham Chesters (PLS Chair), novelist Chris Walsh, PLS trustee Julian Wild, Philip Pullen (Chair of Larkin100), PLS members Sally Button and James Tarry, Leigh Bird and Esther Johnson from Ships In The Sky, Hull. Poems discussed: Self’s the Man, Vers De Societe, Home Is So Sad, The Mower. Topics discussed: PLS online events, Coventry City of Culture, Larkin100, Larkin embroid...
Dec 18, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Novelist, playwright and teacher Jonathan Smith has written two plays about Poet Laureate John Betjeman (1906-1984), Mr Betjeman's Class , and Mr Betjeman Regrets that were first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017. His wonderful new book Being Betjeman(n) has recently been published by Galileo Publishing ( https://galileopublishing.co.uk/being-betjemann ). We talk about the life of John Betjeman and his wider cultural significance, Betjeman’s many connections to Philip Larkin, and Jonathan’s own v...
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 16
Professor Graham Chesters, the new Chair of the Philip Larkin Society, joins us to talk about how came to Hull University, inadvertently following the footsteps of Larkin. Graham also tells us about his relationship with Philip Larkin both as a university colleague and a neighbour in Hull and some of his more disconcerting and memorable encounters with Larkin. Graham talks about his involvement with the Philip Larkin Society and the impact of Covid on the Society. Graham also talks to us about t...
Oct 16, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Our guest on this episode is David Quantick - journalist, essayist, writer of television shows Veep and The Thick Of It, horror novel All My Colours (2019, Titan Books), soon-to-be released novel Night Train (2020, Titan Books) and much, much more! A few months ago, David Quantick tweeted about his enjoyment of Trouble At Willow Gables and other Brunette Coleman works by Philip Larkin. In this episode he joins us to talk about Brunette Coleman and in particular her essay What Are We Writing For?...
Jul 17, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 14
This episode has four contributors, all of whom have very different connections to Philip Larkin. Wes Finch from The Mechanicals Band performs his beautiful new setting of The Trees by Philip Larkin. Sophie Lewis, Folio Society editor, discusses the remarkable new limited edition of Philip Larkin’s Collected Poems, which is the first to combine both Larkin’s poems and photographs, with the introduction and image selection by Andrew Motion. https://www.foliosociety.com/uk/philip-larkin-collected-...
Jun 12, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Lyn and Rachael have been friends for over twenty years. In this episode, they discuss their shared enthusiasm for all things Larkin. Larkin poems referred to: Afternoons, Dockery and Son, The Mower, Sunny Prestatyn, The Large Cool Store, A Study of Reading Habits, Toads, Toads Revisited, As Bad as A Mile, Vers De Societe, Home is So Sad, At Grass, The Old Fools, Solar, Church Going, For Sidney Bechet, Reference Back, Wild Oats, Take One Home For the Kiddies. Prose: Jill and A Girl In Winter by ...
May 22, 2020•52 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Chris Walsh is a novelist who now lives in Kent, and who, in common with Larkin, is also a poet and photographer. In this episode, Chris talks about his sense of place, his love of the Goons and how his novel 'The Dig Street Festival' (to be published later in 2020 by Louise Walters), is influenced by Philip Larkin. Chris reads and discussed Larkin's 'Home is So Sad', and we also talk about This Be The Verse, Next Please and more. Follow Chris on Twitter @WalshWrites and visit louisewaltersbooks...
Apr 24, 2020•46 min•Season 1Ep. 11
This ‘Larkin in Lockdown’ episode was recorded specially to look at Larkin in the context of Covid-19 and we would like to send out thoughts out to all our supporters and listeners at this difficult time. Lyn and Kyra look at Larkin’s poems of social isolation as well as his poetry about spring and nature. We read from and discuss a range of Larkin’s poems, including Best Society, Here, High Windows, Going, Going, The Whitsun Weddings, Coming and The Trees. We also surprise ourselves with curren...
Apr 09, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In the second part of our conversation with Kieron Winn, we discuss Faith Healing and ‘coinage’ of all different kinds in Larkin, This Be The Verse, Broadcast , Tom Stoppard and Ian McEwan’s comments on Larkin, Herbert Read’s essay ‘What is a Poem?’, the glacial speed of poetry writing, Wordsworth, Hardy, TS Eliot, and the poetry of grief. Kieron also reads two more poems from The Mortal Man; The Duplicator and Cornwall . More information about Kieron can be found at kieronwinn.com . Presented b...
Mar 23, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Kieron Winn is a widely published poet and teacher whose debut collection The Mortal Man (2015) was glowingly reviewed by both Clive James and Melvyn Bragg. In this first of two episodes, Kieron talks to us about Toads, Dockery and Son, Myxamatosis and more, as well as The Flight from Bootle by John Betjeman, Kieron's thoughts on writing poetry and the 'lunar' landscape of Hull, taking in Tennyson, Wordsworth and Ted Hughes along the way. The podcast also features Kieron reading his own poem Fir...
Mar 09, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In this episode we speak to Philip Larkin Society trustee, Philip Pullen, a writer and researcher who is also the society's Media and Publicity Officer and chair of the Larkin 100 celebrations, being planned by the society for 2022. He talks to us about the plans for Larkin 100 and his extensive research into Larkin's life, which has uncovered many fascinating stories about the poet and his family. Presented by Lyn Lockwood. Theme music: 'The Horns Of The Morning' by The Mechanicals Band . Audio...
Jan 27, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 7
