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Required Writing:

Miscellaneous Pieces ; 1955 - 1982
Front Cover
4 Reviews
University of MICHIGAN Press, 1999 - Literary Collections - 328 pages
The reappearance of Philip Larkin's Required Writing will be welcomed by the late poet's many readers and admirers. The book's first two parts, "Recollections" and "Interviews," provide autobiographical glimpses of the very private Larkin's childhood, his youth at Oxford, the genesis of his forty-year career as a librarian, and the influences that initially steered his poetry.
The second half of the book reflects Larkin's literary standards and opinions in often witty and surprising, always beautifully wrought, essays and reviews. His subjects range from Emily Dickinson (were her first lines her best?) to the contemporary mystery novel. Required Writing concludes with a selection of pieces on jazz music.
"Larkin is a punctilious, honest critic. He prefers good clear writing to pretentious eyewash; he prefers tunes to discordant wailing; and he prefers home to abroad. Unlike the majority of critics, he is clear-sighted enough to say so." --A. N. Wilson, Sunday Telegraph
"I read the collection with growing excitement, agreement and admiration. It is the best contemporary account of the writer's true aims I have encountered." --John Mortimer, Sunday Times (London)
"Subtle, supple, craftily at ease, Required Writing is on a par with Larkin's poetry--which is just about as high as praise can go." --Clive James, Observer
Philip Larkin was the author of poetry collections, including High Windows, The Whitsun Weddings, and The Less Deceived; a book of essays entitled All What Jazz: A Record Diary; and two novels, Jill, and A Girl in Winter, published early in his career. Required Reading was originally published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

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Review: Required Writing: Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982

User Review  - Jennifer - Goodreads

I love Larkin despite finding some of his views utterly contemptible, a tame example of this being: (on his opinion of Margaret Thatcher) "Recognising that if you haven't got the money for something ... Read full review

Review: Required Writing: Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982

User Review  - Ian - Goodreads

Phillip Larkin shares with Orwell the ability to engage you with clear and elegant prose. This is writing that you not only enjoy for itself but also leaves you wanting to read the works of the ... Read full review

All 4 reviews »

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Other editions - View all

Required writing: miscellaneous pieces, 1955-1982
Required writing: miscellaneous pieces, 1955-1982
Philip Larkin
Snippet view - 1999
Required Writing Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982 Philip Larkin: Miscellaneous ...
Required Writing Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982 Philip Larkin: Miscellaneous ...
Philip Larkin
No preview available - 1955
Required Writing: Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982
Required Writing: Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982
Philip Larkin
No preview available - 2012

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References from web pages

An Affair of Sanity: Philip Larkin | clivejames.com
TEXT. Text section · Audio section · Gallery section · Video section · Online Shop · New items · Search this site · Names Index ...
www.clivejames.com/ pieces/ snakecharmers/ larkin

Blackwell Publishing Ltd Oxford, UK CRIQ Critical Quarterly 0011 ...
Blackwell Publishing Ltd Oxford, UK CRIQ Critical Quarterly 0011-1562 © Critical Quarterly 2006 Spring 2006 48 1 43 67 CRITICISM Polarities of Englishness: ...
www.blackwell-synergy.com/ doi/ xml/ 10.1111/ j.1467-8705.2006.00685.x

BOOKS OF THE TIMES; A CRACKLING FRESHNESS - New York Times
BOOKS OF THE TIMES; A CRACKLING FRESHNESS. By ANATOLE BROYARD. REQUIRED WRITING: Miscellaneous. Pieces 1955-1982. By Philip Larkin. 328 ...
query.nytimes.com/ gst/ fullpage.html?res=9C06E6DF1439F930A15755C0A962948260& sec=& spon=& pagewanted=print

Whitsun - Search Radar
1955-1982 - Collected Poems: Philip Larkin -- , Anthony Thwaite (Editor); Whitsun Weddings; Jill; Required Writing: Miscellaneous Pieces, 1955-1982 (Poets ...
searchradar.webaroo.com/ s?searchQuery=Whitsun

Housman and Larkin: Romantic into Parnassian?
Housman and Larkin:. Romantic into Parnassian? JOHN BA YLEY. WHILE WRITING A BOOK about Housman's poetry I was. continually reminded of Larkin, ...
eic.oxfordjournals.org/ cgi/ reprint/ XLI/ 2/ 147.pdf

Philip Larkin
POETRY SUPPLEMENT, 1974; HIGH WINDOWS, 1974; FEMMES DAMNÉES, 1978; AUBADE, 1980; REQUIRED WRITING: MISCELLANEOUS PIECES, 1955-1982, 1983; COLLECTED POEMS, ...
www.kirjasto.sci.fi/ larkin.htm

untier.de: Philip Larkin. Hier. Gedichte. (Übertr. von Ulrich ...
Required Writing. Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982. London: Faber & Faber 1983. - . Selected Letters of Philip Larkin 1946-1985, ed. Anthony Thwaite. ...
www.untier.de/ seiten/ larkin/ seiten/ auswahkbiblio.htm

7927. Philip Larkin. Simpson’s Contemporary Quotations. 1988
7927. Philip Larkin. Simpson’s Contemporary Quotations. 1988
www.bartleby.com/ 63/ 27/ 7927.html

The Philip Larkin Society
Publisher: Faber and Faber; New Ed edition (17 April 1975) ISBN-10: 0571105033 ISBN-13: 978-0571105038 Synopsis: To add a short synopsis please email the ...
www.philiplarkin.com/ philiplarkinbibloautoard.html

Philip Larkin - Research and Read Books, Journals, Articles at ...
Research Philip Larkin at the Questia.com online library
www.questia.com/ library/ literature/ philip-larkin.jsp

About the author (1999)

Philip Larkin was a British poet, novelist, critic, and essayist. Born in 1922 in Coventry, England, he graduated from St. John's College, Oxford, in 1940 and then pursued a career as a librarian, becoming the librarian at the University of Hull in 1955. Although he led a retiring life and published infrequently, producing only one volume of poetry approximately every 10 years, Larkin was still considered one of the preeminent contemporary British poets. He is often associated with the "Movement," a 1950s literary group that, through the use of colloquial language and common, everyday subjects, endeavored to create poetry that would appeal to the common reader. However, this association came about mainly because Larkin's poem "Church Going," for which he first gained critical attention, was published in New Lines, an anthology of the "Movement" poets. In reality, his work, particularly his later poems, is not typical of the group. Larkin's published a total of only four volumes of poetry: The North Ship (1945), The Less Deceived (1955), The Whitsun Weddings (1964), and High Windows (1974). He also wrote two novels, Jill and A Girl in Winter, and published two volumes of prose, Required Writing and All That Jazz, a collection of his reviews of jazz records. Philip Larkin died in 1985.

Bibliographic information

QR code for Required Writing
TitleRequired Writing: Miscellaneous Pieces ; 1955 - 1982
Poets on poetry
AuthorPhilip Larkin
Editionillustrated, reprint
PublisherUniversity of MICHIGAN Press, 1999
ISBN0472085840, 9780472085842
Length328 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Literary Collections / Essays
Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
Poetry / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
  
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