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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 11h

A new podcast episode is available now, ahead of our writing workshop hosted by Anna and poet and Chris Sewart. Please enjoy! Dr Anna Stevenson at the Brynm…–Tiny In All That Air – Apple Podcasts share.google/6i7uHYXQxqzp...

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Dr Anna Stevenson at the Brynmor Jones Library

Podcast Episode · Tiny In All That Air · 28 September · 28min

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 11h

There are 2 fully funded places available for this event. Please message us if you are a full time student and would like to take up one of the places.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Happy Birthday to our fantastic Honorary Vice President, writer, musician and artist, Nick Cave. In his Red Hand Files blog in 2019 Nick listed Philip Larkin as one of his most loved poets, alongside Stevie Smith, WH Auden and Thomas Hardy.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

‘I do feel defensive about that Bechet line: have they never heard the Beatles singing ‘She loves you – yeah, yeah, yeah—’? Or read the end of Molly Bloom’s soliloquy? Why is it so bad? I thought when I wrote it that it just ‘got’ love & Bechet & everything. Perhaps that’s what’s wrong with it!’

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

‘Walking With Words, a poetic stroll through Beverley’. Part of the East Yorkshire Walking Festival. Larkin got more than a mention of course, thanks to @philippullen.bsky.social and @chriswriting.bsky.social

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

‘Poems On Location’ from Gladstone’s Library. What better poem to read than ‘New Eyes Each Year’ youtu.be/tqjOrElA8hQ?...

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New Eyes Each Year

YouTube video by The Philip Larkin Society

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

From our YouTube series, Poems On Location, Chris Sewart reads Larkin’s poem ‘Party Politics’ from St Deiniol’s Church in North Wales youtu.be/lBWlE8DFvdo?...

youtu.be

Party Politics

YouTube video by The Philip Larkin Society

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

If you would like to watch trustee Philip Pullen talk about Larkin's view of birthdays (his own and other peoples), it is available now on our YouTube channel. Phil uses AI magic to show Larkin as you have never seen him before at the end- please enjoy! youtu.be/61rr3rEiGsg?...

youtu.be

The Philip Larkin Society Birthday Zoom 2026

YouTube video by The Philip Larkin Society

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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Philip Larkin outside the University of Hull, 1979, photo by Jane Bown.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Our next event is our members Zoom Book Club- this time we are discussing LUCKY JIM by Kingsley Amis. Please come along- the Zoom link is in our recent members emails, and we will send out again before the day.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Sending positive thoughts on this day of examination results to all the Next Generation of Larkin Readers and to all their hardworking teachers, lecturers, and librarians.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

As we consider the beauty and mystery of the solar eclipse today, do read Philip Larkin's poem SOLAR. Some would argue this is the closest Larkin ever came to writing a prayer.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Philip Larkin was born on this day in 1922. In this birthday poem for contemporary Charles Causley he considers the implications of being a Leo.

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Chris Sewart @chriswriting.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Looking forward to visiting the museum, in such a lovely building. The Guardian manages to drag up the tired 'Out on a limb' observation about Hull. And, of course, shoehorns Larkin @plsoc.bsky.social into the article...

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

We are celebrating Larkin's birthday on Sunday Aug 9 at 7pm with an online talk exploring Larkin's view of his own and other people's birthdays, by trustee Philip Pullen. Please come along and enjoy Philip's fascinating talk. Invite Link us06web.zoom.us/j/84112687553 us06web.zoom.us/j/84112687553

us06web.zoom.us

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

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Reposted by Philip Larkin Society

James Tarry @northamptonian.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Come on @andyburnham.bsky.social - astonish the brickwork.

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Chris Sewart @chriswriting.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Rosie Millard wants us to 'Get a Hobby' and mulls over some quotes from Larkin's Required Writing. @plsoc.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/rosiemil...

open.substack.com

Get a hobby

But please do not monetise it, put it on Instagram or give it a hashtag

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Chris Sewart @chriswriting.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Larkin's 'Church Going' discussed on BBC Radio 4, at the tail end of Today. @plsoc.bsky.social The poem also lends its name to, and features in, a new R4 series on this morning ... www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio 4 - Church Going, with Giles Fraser, Episode 1

Giles Fraser is on a mission to discover the current state of Christianity.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Naomi Oba, the Young Warwickshire Poet Laureate for 2026, reads her poem, ‘Shelves of Wonder’ at the Larkin Tribute event, reminding us that libraries are magical places.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

An inspirational afternoon at the Philip Larkin event at the Coventry Book Festival. PLS President, Rosie Millard, presents the first ever Philip Larkin Society Next Generation Award to the Red River Theatre Company for their production ‘Home Is So Sad’

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

We’re really looking forward to taking part in the Philip Larkin Tribute today at the Anglican Chapel, London Road Cemetery, Coventry as part of the Festival of Books. 3.00PM and free to attend.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Coventry, like Hull (and Belfast) has its ‘sudden elegances’

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

A lovely day at Coventry’s Book Festival at The Charterhouse, including a new short piece, Home Is So Sad’ by The Red River Theatre Company. Satisfyingly Larkinesque

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Come along to our Meet the Members Zoom get together this Thursday at 7pm. The link was in May's newsletter to members and we will send it out again before Thursday. (The Lucky Jim Book Club will take place in the autumn- we got over excited about that, clearly an effect of the heat!)

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

If you want to know more about our wonderfully supportive Honorary Vice President Sir Tom Courtenay this is a good place to start.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

www.rosiesretrobazaar.co.uk/coventry-fes... We’re looking forward to taking part in the Coventry Festival of Books next weekend. Larkin will have a definite presence. Free entry to most events if you have National Trust membership

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

On this day in 1948 the NHS was founded. Larkin's 1967 poem The Building may have had Hull Royal Infirmary in mind but is a universal meditation on hospitals and human frailty.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

On the occasional Sunday morning some of us may be able to empathise with Amis's Jim Dixon, after a night of excess: 'He lay sprawled, too wicked to move, spewed up like a broken spider-crab on the tarry shingle of the morning...' (Lucky Jim, 1954)

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

The Society is run entirely by unpaid volunteers, and everything we do — our journal, podcasts, YouTube, events, and social media — is made possible by your subscriptions. We have ambitious plans to focus on the Next Generation of Larkin Readers. Please remember to renew your membership!

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

We we are saddened to hear of the passing of Rob Bell, Hull historian, and poet. In 2015 Rob took a leading role in ‘Sounding The Larkin Trail’, a wonderfully evocative evening of poetry and music as part of the Toads Revisted Festival youtu.be/8HFkt7lD23E?...

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Toads Revisited: Sounding the Larkin Trail

YouTube video by Hull2017

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Chris Sewart @chriswriting.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Larkin @plsoc.bsky.social was commissioned to write 'Bridge for the Living' for the opening. Simon Armitage revisited the poem for Larkin's centenary in 2022, worth a listen.... www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

Larkin Revisited - Bridge for the Living - BBC Sounds

Simon Armitage explores Bridge for the Living.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

It is with great sadness that the Philip Larkin Society shares the news of the passing of Carole Collinson. Carole was a long-standing trustee, serving as Events Organiser and Membership Secretary for many years, and was the driving force behind the Larkin statue at Hull's Paragon Station.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

The excellent Frank Cottrell-Boyce referencing Larkin and the Sex Pistols (about 30 mins in) when talking about the concepts behind the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics - the nation as ‘a frail travelling coincidence’ www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

This Cultural Life - Frank Cottrell-Boyce - BBC Sounds

Writer and Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce reveals his cultural influences.

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darcyswickham.bsky.social @darcyswickham.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

It was very pleasant @plsoc.bsky.social

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Wonderful pictures- thank you for coming along.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

After a successful and enjoyable AGM at Westminster Abbey. PLS members had the opportunity to visit Poets’ Corner

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Traveling to London for the AGM this morning and the chance to see Larkin's memorial stone which was placed in Westminster Abbey in 2016.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Larkin’s draft of ‘Song: The Three Ships’ is included in this lovely book published by the British Library. His first poetry workbook is deposited in the BL, the rest are in Hull History Centre.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

In 1962, Larkin accompanied Jean Hartley to see Louis Armstrong at Bridlington Royal Spa.Writing to his mother Eva, Larkin said, “this was a very great thrill for me, as Armstrong is the Shakespeare of jazz even now, & I’ve never seen him before.'

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

We are very pleased to have @deanwilson.bsky.social new poetry collection in our hands, with a badge and a bookmark too! Officially endorsed by our Chair Graham Chesters.

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Today would have been Barbara Pym's birthday (b.1913). Larkin wrote to Pym on 17 June 1978 praising her late novel The Sweet Dove Died, which he says he read '...with avid interest...consumed with eagerness to know what happens next...and in the end. And of course I shall read it again.'

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

‘Sometimes I think I’m preparing for a huge splenetic autobiography, denigrating everyone I’ve ever known: it would have to be left to the nation in large brass-bound boxes, to be printed when all of us are dead.’ PL to Judy Egerton, March 1958

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Philip Larkin Society @plsoc.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

In frames as large as rooms that face all ways And block the ends of streets with giant loaves, Screen graves with custard, cover slums with praise Of motor-oil and cuts of salmon, shine Perpetually these sharply-pictured groves Of how life should be. From Essential Beauty (1962)

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