Collected Poems

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Philip Larkin is the poetic voice of the modern age, so few poets there are from these times! He captures the 50s and 60s, their major themes and angsts in a classical lyricism that eschews all the liberal pandering one finds in other would be artists of the era. He sizes up the sexual revolution, modern lit and letters, jazz music, and the alienation of the modern urban society like no other voice. Thwaite's selection is strong; he includes all the major poems, and most of the minor ones, other than the selections from the North Ship, which is known to represent juvenilia, more or less. Still, there are notable omissions, such as August Schoolroom and Mother, Summer, I, which while inexplicable, may be for the better, because in this way our Larkin voyage is incomplete, and fine unknown poems lie beyond the horizon! (The horizon of Burnett's much longer Complete Poems, that is!) There is no other poet quite the same as Larking, or quite as good in his way. This short volume is an excellent place to start, just begin your reading after the selections from the North Ship, or you might get a misimpression of the poet.

I love the plain speaking in many of his poems but too many of them are loaded with riddley meanings that you stumble over. His notion that twisting words so that they fit an imposed form is one reason for this. He feels that this makes the poems more memorable. I feel just the opposite. Another reason for the riddles is over-reaching, trying to form a concise phrase that captures the maximum special meaning.I read one of his essays in another book where he criticizes a couple poets for being freakish and self-marginalizing, one of which was Sylvia Plath. I won't argue with that but I'm afraid that that could also be applied to himself. His antisocial self-isolation, his morbidity, his distaste for children, his alcoholism, are all topics and themes in his poetry and seem pretty 'freakish' to me. But I must admit I do agree with his opinion of how cheesy and tawdry modern life is.I appreciate his poetry a great deal. He really introduced me to it, validated it for me, at this late stage in my life (I'm in my 60s).

Philip Larkin no longer needs any introduction: he is widely recognised as one of the greatest English poets of the twentieth century.His poetry may however not be to everyone's taste: there is no place for lace and flowers in Larkin. His work is more often than not dark and reflects the feelings of a man who probably felt everything was wasting away about him: not only his own life, but the world as a whole. Through his poems we discover a man who seems to have skipped childhood and adolescence and who finds himself at fifty having had life pass him by. Larkin's poetry expresses his sourness, his fears, his repressed anger, his spite, his general disgust with society and the modern world. And it does this in the most expressive of ways, never shying away from the words that seem necessary, however crude they might be. There is much beauty in his despair.If you are sensitive to poetry, then you cannot avoid reading Larkin. Be warned however that you should not read Larkin to brighten up your life: the "happy poems" are few and far between. But read him nonetheless and decide afterwards whether his work is to your liking. He may just hit the spot on one of those lonely evenings when you feel yourself that everything just isn't as it should be. And after that, you will never be able to separate yourself from a copy of Philip Larkin's Collected Poems...

I was curious about Larkin because I kept hearing that he wrote salty poetry, and managed to be famous at the same time. None of the poems I ever heard seemed particularly blue, but my curiosity finally got the best of me. What a surprise. Plain spoken, carefully crafted, clearly the work of a fellow life long bachelor which gave him a wry sense of humor about things that others might take all too seriously. And touching as well. "Born Yesterday," a dedication poem for a child is exceptionally tender--none of that stiffness that others evince in occasional poems. His evocations of jazz come from an equally honest place, completely uncliched writing. And what work a day poet couldn't see himself in Larkin's two toad poems about the need to sweat out a living while aspiring to art. And yes, there are a couple of poems with what might be considered salty diction--by my grandmother; but I'd rather have such straightforward honesty in my poets any day instead of the turgid, recondite, I'm smarter than you and I'm not about to let you forget it stuff that's sure to be consigned to the footnotes of history while they're still reading Larkin for pleasure.

Recently, my grandson, a senior in college and a double major--one of which is English--recommended this poet to me. It pleased me to think that he thought enough of my mental abilities that I might be able to enjoy a contemporary poet! I did not find these poems as simple as I thought they'd be when the book arrived--and I still haven't mined the subtle points. The poem that spoke most to me on first reading was very short, "The Mower," but I find myself thinking about it at odd moments. For me, that's the reason for poetry--a statement is made,, a moment is captured, and life is a bit different for the reading. I don't pretend to high thoughts, or brilliant observations, but the point comes through--we must take care to be kind, and to be aware, because we do so much damage without meaning to!

It was a gift to a friend. Philip Larkin is his favorite poet, so I know he loved receiving the Collected Poems!

Well - five stars and ten if I could; but then I've been a fan of Larkin for such a long time. What a wonderful poet he was and he's left us with a very fine legacy indeed. From the incomparable poem "Church Going":A serious house on serious earth it is,In whose blent air all our compulsions meet,Are recognised, and robed as destinies.And that much never can be obsolete,Since someone will forever be surprisingA hunger in himself to be more serious,And gravitating with it to this ground,Which, he once heard, was proper to grow wise in,If only that so many dead lie round.Philip Larkin - The Less DeceivedI bought this as a Christmas present for a friend. As a gift, I think it's better than the new "Complete Poems" in many ways, as a gift at least or for someone new to Larkin.

A bit presumptuous to award stars to these amazing poems, which, to me anyway, strike exactly the right balance between approachability and the need to work at them a bit.No, Larkin was not a perfect human being. Is anyone? I found James Booth's 'Philip Larkin, Life, Art and Love' an excellent companion to revisiting these poems, setting them in the context of his life.

“This Be The Verse”; I discovered Larkin`s poetry for myself while still at school in the 70s – his work was in the poetry textbooks, but it wasn't on the curriculum – he's always been one of my favourite poets.This edition of the collected poems is fine for further exploring his oeuvre; like anyone else I am familiar with some poems but there are plenty more to find (and enjoy) in this dedicated volume.It isn`t the complete edition of his work, but it makes a great introduction/reference to Larkin`s poetry for the layman.

I thought this was a bunch poems picked by Philip Larkin. It turns out that, just like Norman Wisdom on Desert Island Discs, the set list is all his own stuff. No one else gets a look in.Anyway, turns out to be quite good.Every cloud and all that.

Good introduction to poetry