Larkin’s lament
These are the amusingly honest words of Philip Larkin, written in a letter while slacking off from his librarian job in Shropshire.
I’m tired of being here, and seeing those I do not love, and doing that I do not care about, and being paid too little money for doing it.
I should like to get back to the halcyon days of suppers in Nick’s rooms [at St. John’s College, Oxford]. Et ego in Arcadia vixi or whatever it is. And I want to see books with my name printed down the spine, and seeing people saying how clever I am to write them, and giving me money. Blawks!
It reminds me a bit of Morrissey’s lyrics in Frankly Mr. Shankly.
As it happens, I’m absorbed in Larkin’s selected letters at the moment and am amazed at how such a tediously regular life (of work, job interviews, wanking, bad beer, paying the rent, procrastination) lead to such ‘clean’ success: that is, to be universally recognised as one of the brilliant poets of the Twentieth Century through a modest body of work.
Larkin succeeded in artistic integrity (seldom would he deviate from producing anything other than his poetry); career integrity (for all his moaning about it, he was an excellent librarian); and educational integrity (he got a First-class degree in English language and literature from Oxford without pissing around with lesser qualifications).
I wish I had those three kinds of integrity, but I fear my record is already blotted through a youth of dancing, prancing indecision. Let that be a lesson to you all. Be like Larkin and have a brilliant degree, career and canon. Blawks.
About Robert Wringham
Robert Wringham is the editor of New Escapologist. He also writes books and articles. Read more at wringham.co.uk
Glad you’re enjoying them, I was looking for them the other day until I remembered you taking them.
I still think you have time to redeem yourself and embrace a life Larkinesque misery.
Did you see this?
I am enjoying them. Very much. Sorry to have pilfered them so cruelly from your library! Will send it back once finished. The university library actually has a copy if the Gonz is still a member? It’s at English NL70.Z9 1992-T.
He is a miseryguts, eh? He said that deprivation was his analogue to Wordsworth’s daffodils. Aw.
Thanks for that link. His private life may have been a failure overall but he still enjoyed himself with ‘the School Captain’. Phew.
Don’t worry, enjoy them, there’s no rush.
Larkin is a great wit, but had a miserable life – bilious, drunk, disappointed – but he did have integrity.
Cheers, mucker.
I didn’t know much about the chap before picking up your book. Hugely enjoying it. Thanks for the lend.
[…] The most productive thing I’ve been able to do these past few days is to read chunks of Larkin on the […]
Some subscribers just don’t get it, like my coworker who couldn’t understand the objective substance of this section on your post “… slacking off from his librarian job in Shropshire.I’m tired of being here, and seeing those I do not love, …” it also reminded me about the day I ran into my wife.