Synopsis
Philip Larkin ponders ordinary lives in his poems: a Saturday show; travelling salesmen; young love. At the seaside "Everything crowds under the low horizon: / Steep beach, blue water, towels, read bathing caps, / The small hushed waves' repeated fresh collapse / Up the warm yellow sand". There's an almost Shakespearian obsession with ageing and passing time in the poems collected in High Windows. "What do they think has happened, the old fools, to make them like this? Why aren't they screaming?" Larkin asks of the elderly. His answer: "Well, we shall find out." In the titular poem he watches young lovers and wonders "if anyone looked at me, forty years back, and thought, That'll be the life". But it's hard to see into the future or the past: you have to strain, as if looking through a high window, and even then you may only get a glimpse of light through the "sun-comprehending glass."
High Windows was first published in 1974 and some critics disliked Larkin's work for its lack of experiment and familiar subject matter. Yet even at its most traditional, Larkin's writing can be striking as, in "This Be The Verse", it encapsulates prosaic truths with plain language and gentle wit:
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.--Tamsin Todd
They may not mean to but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
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About the Author
Philip Larkin was born in Coventry in 1922 and was educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry, and St John's College, Oxford. As well as his volumes of poems, which include The Whitsun Weddings and High Windows, he wrote two novels, Jill and A Girl in Winter, and two books of collected journalism: All What Jazz: A Record Library, and Required Writing: Miscellaneous Prose. He worked as a librarian at the University of Hull from 1955 until his death in 1985. He was the best-loved poet of his generation, and the recipient of innumerable honours, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, and the WHSmith Award.
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High Windows
Published by
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1974
ISBN 10: 0374170002
ISBN 13: 9780374170004
Used
Softcover
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 11076421-6
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HIGH WINDOWS
Published by
Farrar Straus and Giroux, New York, 1974
ISBN 10: 0374170002
ISBN 13: 9780374170004
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Second Story Books, ABAA, Rockville, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. First US Edition. Octavo, 42 pages. In Very Good minus condition with a Good dust jacket. Spine blue and off-white with black and white lettering. Exterior has moderate wear including slight soiling and minor edge wear. Boards have slight wear including faint sunning, small white mark to the rear and minor edge wear. Text block has slight wear including age toning to the edges and mild age toning to the end papers. Illustrated. First US edition. NOTE: Shelved in Netdesk Column U, ND-U. 1402132. FP New Rockville Stock. Seller Inventory # 1402132
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HIGH WINDOWS and A GIRL IN WINTER
Published by
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1974
ISBN 10: 0374170002
ISBN 13: 9780374170004
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Second Story Books, ABAA, Rockville, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. First Edition. HIGH WINDOWS: Octavo, 42 pages. In Good plus condition, with Good plus dust jacket. Blue and light beige spine with white and brown lettering. Dust jacket has faint creasing and several small closed tears to top edge of front cover, faint age toning overall, and light shelf wear along rear joint. Price unclipped: "$6.50". Boards show significant discoloration to cloth on top edges (not impacting front or back covers). Text block has light age toning to edges, and staining/discoloration to top edge. Shelved Room C. A GIRL IN WINTER: New York: St. Martin's Press, 1957. First Edition. Octavo, 248 pages. In Good plus condition, with Good plus dust jacket. Light beige spine with brown lettering. Dust jacket has light chipping to head and tail of spine and corners, and light age toning overall (more significant to spine). Price unclipped: "$4.50". Light blue cloth boards show minor bumping to head and tail of spine, and minimal wear to corners. Text block has light ave toning to edges, and the ink ownership inscription of former owner on the front free end paper. Shelved Room C. 1391325. Special Collections. Seller Inventory # 1391325