Philip Larkin

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Monument to Philip Larkin in Hull

Philip Arthur Larkin (born August 9, 1922 in Coventry , † December 2, 1985 in Hull ) was an English poet, author and jazz critic. He worked as a university librarian in Hull . Larkin is considered one of the most important English poets of the 20th century.

Life

Philip Arthur Larkin came into contact with contemporary poetry and literature at an early age, particularly with the works of Ezra Pound , TS Eliot , James Joyce and DH Lawrence . From 1940 to 1943 Larkin studied English at St. John's College , Oxford. Because of his nearsightedness, Larkin had been classified as unfit for war during World War II . Unlike many of his fellow students, he was able to graduate with honors after three years. One of his fellow students was Kingsley Amis , who dedicated his novel Lucky Jim Larkin.

Larkin's grave in Cottingham

After completing his studies, Larkin began training as a librarian and after several positions at various libraries, he accepted the position as university librarian at Hull University in Kingston upon Hull in 1955 , which he held until his death. In the first few years Larkin was busy building the university library.

A monthly jazz review by Larkin appeared in the Daily Telegraph from 1961 to 1971 . The collected reviews were published in 1970 under the title All What Jazz: a record diary 1961–1968 . After the construction of Hull University Library was completed in 1970, Larkin began editing an anthology of 20th century English poetry, The Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century English Verse .

At a memorial service for John Betjeman , who died in July 1984, Larkin was offered the dignity of Poet Laureate . He renounced. In 1985, Philip Larkin developed cancer. On the death bed, he ordered his diaries to be destroyed. However, his correspondence and unpublished writings have been preserved and some have been published.

Larkin had several love affairs, sometimes parallel to one another, which are reflected in his poetry.

Honors

Larkin received numerous honors for his work: in 1973 and 1974 he was honored with honorary degrees from St. John's College in Oxford and the universities of Warwick, St. Andrews and Sussex. In 1975 he was awarded the English Order of Knights ( CBE ) and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . In 1976 he received the German Shakespeare Prize . In 1980 he became an honorary member of the Library Association , in 1982 Professor at Hull University. In 1984 he received the title D.Litt. from Oxford University and was elected to the Board of Directors of the British Library. In 1984 he was offered the Poet Laureateship, which he refused.

Works

poetry

  • The North Ship. 1945.
  • XX poems. 1951.
  • The Less Deceived. 1955
  • The Whitsun Weddings. 1964
  • High Windows. 1974.
  • Collected poems. 1988.
  • Collected poems. 2003

German translations

  • with Thom Gunn , Ted Hughes ; Karl Heinz Berger Ed .: Poems. Anthology. Volk & Welt, Berlin 1974
  • Philip Larkin: Poems . Selected and transferred by Waltraud Anna Mitgutsch . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1988.
  • Karl Heinz Berger (Hrsg.): Philip Larkin: I only hear the rough sound of my bell. Volk und Welt publishing house , Berlin 1988
  • Philip Larkin: Aubade. Early morning song. Bilingual edition . German by Richard Glabotki; with 7 illustrations by Maximilian Perna. Literarisches Bureau Christ & Fez, Stuttgart 2012. ISBN 978-3-933591-11-1
  • Philip Larkin: High Windows. Tall windows. Bilingual edition . German by Richard Glabotki. Literarisches Bureau Christ & Fez, Stuttgart 2016. ISBN 978-3-933591-10-4

Novels and short stories

  • Jill. 1946.
  • A girl in winter. 1947.
  • Trouble at Willow Gables and Other Fiction 1943–1953. 2002.

German translations

  • A girl in winter. Translated by Ruth Weiland-Freeman. 1948.
  • Vortex at Willow Gables boarding school. Edited and with an afterward by James Booth. From the English by Steffen Jacobs . Frankfurt 2004.
  • Jill. Translated from the English by Steffen Jacobs. Frankfurt 2010.

various

  • All What Jazz: A Record Diary 1961-1971.
  • Required Writing: Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982. 1983.
  • Further Requirements: Interviews, Broadcasts, Statements and Book Reviews 1952–1985.
  • Brynmor Jones Library, 1929-79. 1979, ISBN 0-85958-538-7 .
  • as editor: The Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century English Verse chosen by Philip Larkin. 1973.
  • Maeve Brennan (Ed.): A Lifted Study-Storehouse: the Brynmor Jones Library, 1929-1979. 1987.
  • Anthony Thwaite (Ed.): Selected Letters 1940–1985. 1992.

literature

  • Richard Bradford: First Boredom Then Fear: The Life of Philip Larkin. Peter Owen Publishers, 2005, ISBN 0-7206-1147-4 .
  • Maeve Brennan: The Philip Larkin I Knew. Manchester 2002, ISBN 0-7190-6275-6 .
  • Andrew Motion : Philip Larkin: A Writer's Life. 1993, ISBN 0-571-17065-X .
  • Ingrid Rückert: "The touch of sympathy", Philip Larkin and Thom Gunn: 2 contributions to contemporary English poetry. Winter, Heidelberg 1982, ISBN 3-533-03159-4 .
  • James Booth: Philip Larkin: life, art and love , London [u. a.]: Bloomsbury, 2014, ISBN 978-1-4088-5166-1

Web links

Commons : Philip Larkin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Larkin is nation's top poet. On: BBC News. October 15, 2003.
  2. ^ The 50 greatest postwar writers. In: The Times . January 5, 2008.
  3. ^ R. Bradford: First Boredom Then Fear: The Life of Philip Larkin. 2005, p. 26.
  4. ↑ Andrew Motion: Philip Larkin: A Writer's Life. 1993, pp. 244-245.
  5. ↑ see D.Litt. in the engl. Wikipedia
  6. ↑ 14 poems from it in German only in the bilingual edition in Volk und Welt 1988, see below
  7. ↑ Poems from it in German in the bilingual edition by Volk und Welt 1988, see below
  8. ↑ contains previously unpublished poems
  9. ↑ Transmissions from the ed., By Helmut Heinrich, Klaus Dieter Sommer and Vera Tran. Afterword of the ed., Pp. 173 - 182. Bilingual edition. Those poems that are already in the anthology of 1974 are marked in the table of contents
personal data
SURNAME Larkin, Philip
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Larkin, Philip Arthur
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English poet, author and jazz critic
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Coventry
DATE OF DEATH 2nd December 1985
Place of death Hull