Philip Larkin: Life, Art And Love

"Whether the new biography of poet Philip Larkin is for you will depend on two things: whether you adore the poetry (you do? Let’s be friends!), and if you’re interested in hearing more about the softer side of Larkin. The other side is well-known — there is plenty of evidence to suggest Larkin was a real jerk: a bigot, a misogynist, a drunk. This biography is by James Booth, who knew him for almost two decades and accentuates Larkin’s kinder attributes. Even as a die-hard fan of the poetry, I don’t know enough to weigh in on who he really was — and in many ways, Booth may seem like an apologist — but there’s still pleasure in the argument itself, and in the many detailed critical passages. Is Booth’s funnier, affectionate Larkin the real man? Maybe, maybe not — but no matter who he was, he’s still the man who wrote An Arundel Tomb. “What will survive of us is love.”"