LARKIN100: Hull the focus of national celebrations - plus wider programme revealed

Philip Larkin

By Simon Bristow

Hull will today be the focus of national celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of poet Philip Larkin, widely regarded as the greatest English poet of the twentieth century.

Organisers Larkin 100 are using August 9, his 100th birthday, to formally launch a series of “exciting and innovative centenary events”, now confidently extending to the end of the year thanks to vital support from key partners: Hull City Council, Hull History Centre and the University of Hull.

The day begins with an afternoon of poetry, dance and music at Hull Truck Theatre entitled Finding Home. Hosted by writer and broadcaster, Matthew Sweet, it will feature: Imtiaz Dharker, internationally acclaimed poet and Honorary Vice President of the Philip Larkin Society; Hull based poet and writer Vicky Foster; Hull band The Broken Orchestra; Coventry based musician and songwriter Wes Finch; and the JoinedUp Dance Company, all in celebration of a city which Larkin sometimes called home, and “which made, and continues to make, astonishing poetry possible”.

As part of her performance, Imtiaz Dharker will be premiering a new poem about Larkin commissioned by the Philip Larkin Society (PLS).

Afterwards, the programme will follow the Larkin Trail down to the University of Hull’s Middleton Hall for an evening in the company of Poet Laureate Simon Armitage. Philip Pullen, chair of Larkin 100, said: “There is something incredibly special about hosting the Poet Laureate in the very building where Larkin himself hosted readings by other major poets, including a previous Laureate in Ted Hughes.”

Today also sees the opening of an exhibition by artist DJ Roberts called Larkinworld 2, a reworking of DJ’s acclaimed installation at the National Poetry Library on London’s South Bank in 2017.

The exhibition will be hosted in the University of Hull’s Art Gallery at the Brynmor Jones Library, and will run until September 25. It aims to replicate the diversity and often exuberant nature of Larkin's world and will be the first Larkin exhibition to be held in the gallery since the much-loved New Eyes Each Year exhibition in 2017.

James Orwin’s Astonishing The Brickwork – Philip Larkin set to music, will also be published today. This thoroughly researched volume catalogues “the attempts of composers across the world to prove that they and the poems of Philip Larkin are equal to the task”. It will provide a vital research tool for any Larkin scholar, particularly in relation to the musical potential in so many of Larkin’s poems.

Larkin will also find a place in Hull’s acclaimed Freedom Festival, which returns to the streets of the city from August 26 to September 9. “We’re keeping our powder dry for now but, at the very least, expect a host of Larkin-like poets travelling around the city telling stories and performing poetry; perhaps some of them might even be on bicycles,” Mr Pullen said.

Philip Larkin - widely regarded as the greatest English poet of the twentieth century

On Thursday August 11 there will be a screening of Klaartje Quirijns’ Your Mum and Dad: A Devastating Truth at Parkway Cinema in Beverley. The film, in which Larkin makes a brief appearance, echoes the sentiments of his most quoted poem.

Beverley was a favourite haunt of Larkin’s and will feature in a Larkin walk on September 20 as part of the Walking East Yorkshire Festival.

Away from Hull and East Yorkshire, events will be taking place across the country, including a revival of Ben Brown’s play, Larkin With Women, at the Old Red Lion, Islington, from August 31 to September 17. The finale matinee performance on September 17 will feature a question and answer session between Ben Brown and PLS President, Rosie Millard.

Two days earlier there will be a Larkin Day in Wellington, Shropshire, where Larkin began his career as a public librarian. In addition to a guided walk and a talk in the library, Larkin 100 are featuring the premiere of a short film, Larkin in the West Midlands, made by Dan Cummings and Lee Harris as part of the Cummings Your Way series.

“We are delighted to be supporting centenary events hosted by some of our sister literary societies,” PLS chair Graham Chesters said. On September 4, PLS Trustee Daniel Vince will be giving a talk entitled A few green leaves can make such a difference: Pym, Larkin, and rural retirement at the Barbara Pym Society AGM and conference at St Hilda’s College, Oxford.

On September 24, there will be a joint conference with the Betjeman Society in Leicester entitled A Coming Together of Sorts: the collaborative adventures of John Betjeman and Philip Larkin.

Former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion, PLS Honorary Vice-President, will feature in two online events in September. On the 14th he will be joining Wendy Cope and Zaffar Kunial in a Faber and Faber members-only event entitled In focus: Philip Larkin. On September 17, Sir Andrew joins PLS President Rosie for what will be a fascinating online conversation. Booking details will be released shortly.

On October 25, PLS Honorary Vice-Present Alan Johnson will be taking part in an evening of conversation at Hull Truck Theatre with Rosie Millard.

On November 4, there will be a Larkin Day in Loughborough during which local author Lynne Dyer and Mr Pullen, a Larkin writer and researcher, will lead a guided tour of the town, covering places relevant to Larkin and his mother, Eva, who lived there for many years, and whom Larkin regularly visited and stayed with. This will be followed by an evening of Larkin-related talks hosted by the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Loughborough.

“And there is more to come,” Mr Pullen added. In fact, we are planning something very special during the final few months of the year.”