The Latest Breaking News from Philip Larkin

Several of the poets appointed by, or inherited by the Queen, had to deal with public mockery. No wonder Philip Larkin turned down the role

The poet Philip Larkin put his finger on it years ago with: They f*** you up your mom and dad. He co

Philip Larkin was one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. He was also, among other things, a librarian at Hull University, an editor of the Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century English Verse, a huge fan of Margaret Thatcher, a prodigious writer of letters, an aficionado of jazz music and…

A century after the poet’s birth, Imtiaz Dharker introduces her own poem about the grumpy great, Swiping left on Larkin