Larkin
Forgot to mention, I had no idea he wrote a couple of novels too. Anyone read them? I bet David has............any good David?
Sorry to disappoint, Nash, but I haven't. I think somebody here has, though. Is it k-j?Nash wrote:Forgot to mention, I had no idea he wrote a couple of novels too. Anyone read them? I bet David has............any good David?
I thought it was a good article too, and what MA says about the memorability (is that a word) of the poems is absolutely right. I often think about the lines he quotes from The Whitsun Weddings, and there's another passage (from a different poem) that he does mention that I have never forgotten:
Yes, swagger the nut-strewn roads,
Crouch in the fo'c'sle
Stubbly with goodness, if
It weren't so artificial,
Such a deliberate step backwards
To create an object ...
And we already know how we all (or many of us) feel about For Sidney Bechet.
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Very informative - especially about the sub-text of "Lucky Jim" . Thanks, Ros.
"Not a poet's poet" ?
- that implies that "real" poets only write poetry for other "real poets", surely?
Sounds like green-eye to me!
"Not a poet's poet" ?
- that implies that "real" poets only write poetry for other "real poets", surely?
Sounds like green-eye to me!
Instead of just sitting on the fence - why not stand in the middle of the road?
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Good article Ros.
"Achieved art is quite incapable of lowering the spirits. "
Oh, I like that very much!
Regard his fiction, I confess to owning one of the few remaining (? pure speculation!) original copies of A Girl in Winter: a shite piece of juvenilia that I stupidly hope might be worth a few bob some day . . .
B.
"Achieved art is quite incapable of lowering the spirits. "
Oh, I like that very much!
Regard his fiction, I confess to owning one of the few remaining (? pure speculation!) original copies of A Girl in Winter: a shite piece of juvenilia that I stupidly hope might be worth a few bob some day . . .
B.
Reading - or writing?k-j wrote: I've had a rotten run of luck with novels lately
Larkin was probably a World Series Footballer waiting for a touchdown. He was probably fresh in his time in his demographic but I mostly find it hard to return to him. However I'm in the basement and he made the first floor, at least.
J.
Before you shave with Occam’s razor - Try epilation or microlaser
Strangely enough, I was just thinking about recommending a novel to you - Long Time, No See by Dermot Healy. It's set in contemporary Donegal. The worlds of Joyce, Beckett and O'Brien are not far away.k-j wrote:No I've never read any of his prose and from what I've heard I'm not inclined to! Although I've had a rotten run of luck with novels lately so it couldn't be much worse.
Thanks for the tip Ros!David wrote:Strangely enough, I was just thinking about recommending a novel to you - Long Time, No See by Dermot Healy. It's set in contemporary Donegal. The worlds of Joyce, Beckett and O'Brien are not far away.k-j wrote:No I've never read any of his prose and from what I've heard I'm not inclined to! Although I've had a rotten run of luck with novels lately so it couldn't be much worse.
fine words butter no parsnips
Ahem. Me actually.k-j wrote:Thanks for the tip Ros!David wrote:Strangely enough, I was just thinking about recommending a novel to you - Long Time, No See by Dermot Healy. It's set in contemporary Donegal. The worlds of Joyce, Beckett and O'Brien are not far away.k-j wrote:No I've never read any of his prose and from what I've heard I'm not inclined to! Although I've had a rotten run of luck with novels lately so it couldn't be much worse.
Make sure you have a thick vest on when they pin the medal, David.
I spent the afternoon reading Larkin (and playing Golf) - he gave me a headache. My wife says I'm menopausal because I polished my gold medallion and brushed out my chest wig before I settled down with his Collected Verse.
I guess he went to Oxford to learn to put words around the wrong way.
J.
I spent the afternoon reading Larkin (and playing Golf) - he gave me a headache. My wife says I'm menopausal because I polished my gold medallion and brushed out my chest wig before I settled down with his Collected Verse.
I guess he went to Oxford to learn to put words around the wrong way.
J.
Before you shave with Occam’s razor - Try epilation or microlaser
Back to Larkin's novels, I just finished reading 'Jill' and it wasn't half bad, quite enjoyable actually.
I was going to say that it wasn't ground-breaking, but according to the introduction it contains "the first example of that characteristic landmark of the British post-war novel, the displaced working-class hero". Sort of interesting innit?
I was going to say that it wasn't ground-breaking, but according to the introduction it contains "the first example of that characteristic landmark of the British post-war novel, the displaced working-class hero". Sort of interesting innit?
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I've loved Larkin's poems since I studied him in school. I,too, was unaware that he had written novels as well. I'm definitely going to get one and curl up with a cup of tea. Might start with Jill since you seemed to like it!
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Just bought a copy of that for £2 in a charity shop after seeign his name at the top of the Times best British writers list. I've never read any! 5 mins flicking through and I've not found anything that's really caught my eye yet but thought it was worth the punt.JohnLott wrote:..before I settled down with his Collected Verse.
I guess he went to Oxford to learn to put words around the wrong way.
J.
The rest of you...keep banging the rocks together.