First Boredom, Then Fear: The Life of Philip Larkin - Softcover

Bradford, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0720613256 ISBN 13: 9780720613254

Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers, 2009

Synopsis

When Philip Larkin's "letters" were published in 1992, the poet's enemies seized on the new disclosures with a frenzy unseen since the McCarthy era. What had previously been regarded only as potential inclination hinted at in his poems—misogyny and xenophobia in particular—were now indisputable facts, and since then Larkin's reputation as a poet has been tarnished by his image as a human being. Richard Bradford's acclaimed biography, now in paperback for the first time, reveals that Larkin treated his prejudices and peculiarities with detached circumspection. Sometimes he shared them, self-mockingly, self-destructively, with his closest friends. He divided up his life so that some people knew him well but none completely, and it was only in his poems that the parts began to resemble the whole.

About this title

From the Author

Richard Bradford is professor of English at the University of Ulster. He previously taught at the universities of Oxford, Wales, and Trinity College, Dublin. He is the author of 12 books on a variety of subjects, including two critical monographs of Kingsley Amis.

From Publishers Weekly

In this thoroughly researched, sometimes slow-moving biography, British scholar Bradford attempts to redress the unfavorable image of one of Britain's most popular 20th-century poets (1922–1985), which resulted from the publication of Larkin's collected and previously unpublished poems, letters and a biography by fellow poet, friend and literary executor Andrew Motion, who portrayed Larkin as a misogynist and bigot. Bradford offers, instead, endearing accounts of Larkin's university days at Oxford, where he forged lasting friendships with future novelist Kingsley Amis and other budding cultural figures, join detailed portraits of complicated, ill-fated and emotionally distant affairs with women, as well as labored portrayals of Larkin's slow development from flailing novelist to master poet, creating a more favorable portrait than Motion's. Bradford also brings new attention to several overlooked poems, though his analyses are overwhelmingly biographical, often positing the poems as little more than clues to Larkin's feelings about romantic relationships. Amis, the subject of Bradford's previous biography (Lucky Jim), also overshadows Larkin in too many pages spent on the poet's influence on Amis's novels. Still, in this well-written depiction, fans will find much—from gossip to scholarship—to stoke their interest. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0720613256
• ISBN 13: 9780720613254
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 220