A S TUTTERING FOUND A TION TRIBUTE


PHILIP LARKIN FAMED BRITISH POET & NOVELIS T


Philip Larkin was one of the most prolific literary figures in Great Britain during the second half of the twentieth century. He was also a person who stuttered throughout his life.


Rejected from military service during World War II, Philip Larkin graduated from Oxford University in 1943. Upon graduation he worked at several university libraries, including Queen’s University in Belfast. In 1955 he became University Librarian at the University of Hull, a position that he held until his death in 1985. This library was made famous when it became the first library in Europe to install a Geac computer, and the first to have an automated online circulation system.


It was his work as a librarian that gave him the financial stability to pursue writing in his off hours as he became a noted poet and novelist. In succession he started by publishing The North Ship, his first book of poetry in 1945, followed in 1946 by his first novel, Jill, and then his second novel, A Girl in Winter in 1947. His second book of poems, The Less Deceived, in 1955 catapulted him into prominence as a writer. His other two books of poetry, The Whitsun Weddings (1964) and High Windows (1974), were critically acclaimed and further fueled his prominence.


In addition to his duties as a librarian, poet and novelist, he also served as the jazz critic for the Daily Telegraph from 1961-1971, becoming one of Britain’s foremost experts on the jazz scene.


10


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56