Tiny In All That Air

My guest today is Ian Kerry who is a photographer and Hull enthusiast. And today’s episode is a new direction for me as I take the microphone outside and travel 70 miles up the road from Sheffield to the Hessle Foreshore, sitting on a picnic bench taking in the view of the Humber Bridge. Ian, Gavin and I talk about the construction of the bridge and the effect of the bridge’s arrival on the local community and the changes to the landscape and human relationships that the bridge brought about. We read a selection of Larkin’s poems and prose and explore what the bridge and the wider Holderness area meant to Larkin.  You will hear some ambient noises in the background- the wind, people walking past, the occasional car and seagull- I hope it helps to set the scene rather than presents a distraction! We also hear PLS member Chris Sewart, reading Bridge for the Living in full. This was recorded on the other side of the river in Barton Upon Humber, with the south pillars of the bridge just behind us. Thank you Chris for taking the time to record this for us. Larkin poems discussed: Here, The Whitsun Weddings, Bridge for the Living, High Windows, Aubade, The Building, Friday Night in the Royal Station Hotel, Absences Other references: Ian’s English teacher- Kate Tordoff A Rumoured City https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rumoured-City-New-Poets-Hull/dp/090642741X [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rumoured-City-New-Poets-Hull/dp/090642741X] Wizard of Oz (1939 dir Victor Fleming) Monitor, Down Cemetery Road with Philip Larkin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coe11pgoj8E [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coe11pgoj8E] Alex Howard https://alexhoward.org/about/ [https://alexhoward.org/about/] https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/35859 Joe Riley https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/joe-riley-presents-the-whitsun-weddings/id1486735740?i=1000664101367 [https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/joe-riley-presents-the-whitsun-weddings/id1486735740?i=1000664101367] Sketch Poetry podcast; https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ubm0zfLmjrOqVqMWulgf0 https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/jun/24/hull-inspires-poets [https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/jun/24/hull-inspires-poets] What fresh Hull is this? Philip Larkin's east Yorkshire home town has been called the most poetic city in England. Which town exercises – or defeats – your muse? By John Keenan Songs for Humberside by Christopher Rowe and Ian Clark https://www.discogs.com/release/3734583-Christopher-Rowe-Ian-Clark-Songs-For-Humberside?srsltid=AfmBOorFZyFqtjKQJDPeTX6e7CYglsETWEwiawNbWL4HNZWYIDbVignN [https://www.discogs.com/release/3734583-Christopher-Rowe-Ian-Clark-Songs-For-Humberside?srsltid=AfmBOorFZyFqtjKQJDPeTX6e7CYglsETWEwiawNbWL4HNZWYIDbVignN] Bridging the Humber https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aepcHKLWgjs&t=1366s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aepcHKLWgjs&t=1366s] Almost Instinct, Almost True booking link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/almost-instinct-almost-true-tickets-1334343379969?aff=oddtdtcreator Music: Lazy River (Louis Armstrong) played by Sidney Bechet Theme music: The Horns of the Morning by Wes Finch and the Mechanicals Band https://themechanicalsband.bandcamp.com/album/the-righteous-jazz Produced by Lyn Lockwood and Gavin Hogg Please email Lyn at ⁠plsdeputychair@gmail.com [plsdeputychair@gmail.com] ⁠ with any questions or comments PLS Membership, events, merchandise and information: philiplarkin.com

Our guest today is writer  Ralph Dartford who works for the National Literacy Trust and is the poetry editor of literary journal Northern Gravy.   Ralph kindly made the journey from Bradford to the Lockwood residence in Sheffield, and we settled down in my living room with mugs of tea and a plate of biscuits, surrounded by books and looked down upon by at least three pictures of Larkin.  Ralph also co-organises the fantastic Louder Than Words festival that takes place in Manchester every autumn, and is a celebration of writing about music. They gather together amazing writers, broadcasters and musicians to discuss, explore and debate all things music and music industry related.  I hope we will continue to see Ralph at more PLS events. Larkin poems mentioned: The Whitsun Weddings, Dockery and Son, Mr Bleaney, For Sidney Bechet, High Windows, Cut Grass, To The Sea, MCMXIV, Here, Broadcast All What Jazz: A Record Diary 1961-1971 (1985) by Philip Larkin The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse - ed.  Philip Larkin (1973)  I am happy to see Mr. Larkin's taste in poetry and my own are in agreement ... I congratulate him most warmly on his achievement. - W. H. Auden, The Guardian Poets/writers/musicians mentioned by Ralph Kae Tempest, Joelle Taylor, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, Vicky Foster, Steve Ely, Chris Jones, Ian Parks, John Betjeman, John Cooper Clarke, John Hegley, Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Michael Stewart, Blake Morrison, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Sidney Bechet, Alan Bennett, Stewart Lee, David Quantick, Ray Davis, Blur,  Van Morrison,  Hang Clouds, Evelyn Glennie, Kingsley Amis, Andrea Dunbar, Helen Mort Other references: Adlestrop (1914) by Edward Thomas https://www.edwardthomaspoetryplaces.com/post/adlestrop Arthur Scargill:  “Arthur Scargill, the miners’ leader and socialist, once told The Sunday Times, ‘My father still reads the dictionary every day. He says your life depends on your power to master words.” Martin H. Manser, The Penguin Writer's Manual [https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1088090] Bob Monkhouse https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/dec/30/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries Longbarrow Press https://longbarrowpress.com/ [https://longbarrowpress.com/] Valley Press https://www.valleypressuk.com/ Kes (1968) by Barry Hines Ralph is Poetry Editor for Northern Gravy https://northerngravy.com/ [https://northerngravy.com/] Ralph reads Geese and England’s Dreaming from House Anthems  https://www.valleypressuk.com/shop/p/house-anthems [https://www.valleypressuk.com/shop/p/house-anthems] Gareth Southgate https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57816651 [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57816651]  Simon Armitage Larkin Revisited Radio 4 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m0019yy2 [https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m0019yy2] Nick Cave- Honorary Vice President for the Philip Larkin Society- Desert Island Discs https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027cgl Lyn’s English teacher 1982-1989 https://petercochran.wordpress.com/remembering-peter/ [https://petercochran.wordpress.com/remembering-peter/] The Ted Hughes Network https://research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/tedhughes/ [https://research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/tedhughes/] James Underwood https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/early-larkin-9781350197121/ [https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/early-larkin-9781350197121/] Albums mentioned: OK Computer (1997) by Radiohead , Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and The White Album (1968) by The Beatles, Park Life (1994) by Blur Summertime in England by Van Morrison https://www.vice.com/en/article/summertime-in-england-a-monologue-on-van-morrison/ [https://www.vice.com/en/article/summertime-in-england-a-monologue-on-van-morrison/] Events: https://louderthanwordsfest.com/ [https://louderthanwordsfest.com/] "My Friend Monica": Remembering Philip Larkin's Partner Monica JonesSat 22 Mar 2025 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Ken Edwards Lecture Theatre 2, University of Leicester, LE1 7RH https://www.tickettailor.com/events/literaryleicester/1538331 [https://www.tickettailor.com/events/literaryleicester/1538331] A celebration marking 70 years of Philip Larkin's 'The Less Deceived' For World Poetry Day https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-celebration-marking-70-years-of-philip-larkins-the-less-deceived-tickets-1235639173029?aff=oddtdtcreator Produced by Lyn Lockwood and Gavin Hogg Please email Lyn at ⁠plsdeputychair@gmail.com [plsdeputychair@gmail.com] ⁠ with any questions or comments PLS Membership, events, merchandise and information: philiplarkin.com

'It was not easy to find a poet in the United States in my reading,who wrote with the clarity and intelligence that Larkin possessed. I found him to be full of surprises..’ My guest today is writer David Biespiel who was born in Texas and who is now Poet in residence at Oregan state university. He has written for numerous publications and reviewed poetry for the Washington Post and the New York Times. He has taught creative writing at university across the US., has won many awards and published several books of his own poetry. In preparation for talking to David, he recommended that I have a look at his book A Long High Whistle: Selected Columns on Poetry, published in 2015, which is a collection of his pithy and fascinating articles on poets and poetry. ‘I love that they are slender, I love that they are pocket sized, the whole texture of them- the Faber books.’ Larkin poems mentioned: Church Going, This Be The Verse, I Remember, I Remember, Dockery and Son, Talking In Bed, Sad Steps, Friday Night In the Royal Station Hotel, Broadcast, An Arundel Tomb, The Mower Poets: John Ashberry, Walt Whitman, TS Eliot, Thom Gunn, Keats, Chaucer, Donne, Elizabeth Bishop, Herbert, Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, William Stafford,  Henry Allen https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/06/03/philip-larkins-everyday-poetry/1a53b1df-d319-43fc-9249-af52238ced60/ [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/06/03/philip-larkins-everyday-poetry/1a53b1df-d319-43fc-9249-af52238ced60/] The Paris Review, Archie Burnett, Martin Amis and Anthony Thwaite collections, US/UK poetry, railway journeys, rhyme schemes, literary tours of UK/Italy https://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-High-Whistle-David-Biespiel/dp/1938308107 [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-High-Whistle-David-Biespiel/dp/1938308107] “The past is never dead. It's not even past.”  William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun [https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2041161] (1950) For more about Larkin's Coventry, please watch: Philip Pullen's fantastic 2022 talk at the PLS AGM in Coventry at Larkin's school King Henry VII School. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDOqZ4N_fUk&t=3106s

My guest today is Rishi Dastidar who is a poet and editor based in London. Rishi discusses his own particular view of Larkin’s portrayal of Englishness in both his letters and his poetry, Larkin’s contemporaries such as TS Eliot and Alan Bennett, and the vibrant role poetry plays in the UK’s cultural landscape.  Rishi Dastidar’s poetry has been published by the Financial Times, The Guardian and BBC and more. He is a fellow of The Complete Works, and a consulting editor at The Rialto magazine. A poem from his debut collection Ticker-tape [https://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/ticker-tape] was included in The Forward Book of Poetry 2018, and his second collection, Saffron Jack [https://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/saffron-jack], was published in the UK by Nine Arches Press in 2020. He is also editor of The Craft: A Guide to Making Poetry Happen in the 21st Century [https://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/the-craft] (Nine Arches Press), and co-editor of Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different: Poems from Malika’s Poetry Kitchen (Corsair). He is the chair of the board of trustees for Wasafari Magazine. Larkin poems discussed: Poetry of Departures, Friday Night In the Royal Station Hotel, Afternoons, The Building, The Whitsun Weddings, Toads, Waiting for Breakfast Other references: Kingsley Amis, Alan Bennett, Ezra Pound The Poetry Review, The New Yorker,  The Delinquent https://delinquentmagazine.bigcartel.com/,  Smiths Knoll magazine (https://poetrymagazines.org.uk/magazine/index190a.html?id=17),  The Faber Academy https://faberacademy.com/ [https://faberacademy.com/] The Love Song of J Alfred Prufock by TS Eliot (1915) Wild God by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2024 PIAS Recordings) Sometimes a Wild God by Tom Hirons https://tomhirons.com/poetry/sometimes-a-wild-god [https://tomhirons.com/poetry/sometimes-a-wild-god] (2017) Neptune's Projects  by Rishi Dastidur (2023)  https://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/neptune-s-projects [https://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/neptune-s-projects] Time by Pink Floyd ‘hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way’ from The Dark Side of the Moon [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon] (1973) George Best, footballer https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/people/george-best/ [https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/people/george-best/] UK films/radio of the 1950s/60s:Passport to Pimlico, Whiskey Galore, The Goons, Kind Hearts and Coronets Music: Lazy River by Sidney Bechet Time by Pink Floyd Theme music: The Horns of the Morning by Wes Finch and the Mechanicals Band https://themechanicalsband.bandcamp.com/album/the-righteous-jazz Produced by Lyn Lockwood and Gavin Hogg Please email Lyn at ⁠plsdeputychair@gmail.com [plsdeputychair@gmail.com] ⁠ with any questions or comments PLS Membership, events, merchandise and information: philiplarkin.com

Reading Larkin’s poetry Eddie Dawes - The Trees (Aug 2022)    Graham Chesters- The First Thing (Aug 2021)  David Quantick - Days (Aug 22) Imtiaz Dharker - Broadcast (Aug 22) Martin Jennings - High Windows (Aug 24) Nominated by Graham Chesters Hans Rutten introducing and reading An April Sunday Brings the Snow in English and Dutch  (Aug 21) Richard Johnson- Sad Steps (Aug 21) Sally Button- To The Sea (Aug 21) Joe Riley - Church Going (Aug 24) Devon Allison- Cut Grass (Aug 24) Nominated by Chris Sewart Andrew Motion- The Old Fools (Aug 2024) Philip Pullen- Show Saturday (March 21) Celebrating Larkin’s Contemporaries Triona Adams reads the opening paragraph of Barbara Pym’s Excellent Women (April 22) Zachary Leader with Julian Henry on the writing of Lucky Jim (nominated by Daniel Vince) (April 21) Ann Thwaite reads Philip Larkin in New Orleans by Anthony Thwaite (May 24) Enjoying Larkin Conversation James Booth and Betty Mackereth- Just what did Betty make of Larkin’s poems? (June 24) (Nominated by Sally Button) John Robins and Robin Allender- Captain Beefheart: Larkin fan. (March 22) Rachael Galletly and Lyn Lockwood-  A house full of Larkin (May 22) Chris Sewart and Phil Pullen- Larkin and The White Album (Nov 23) Rosie Millard and Lyn Lockwood - The wonders of Solar (Feb 24) Music: Monty Sunshine- Petit Fleur Wes Finch and the Mechanicals Band - The Horns of the Morning and The Trees Thank you to all the PLS Trustees, HVPs and members for their support and thank you to the huge support from our listeners and guests. Produced by Simon Galloway, Lyn Lockwood and Gavin Hogg.