Larkin's last collection of miscellaneous prose, Required Writing,
published within the writer's lifetime, in 1983, won the W.H.Smith
Award. This generous sequel, which must surely leave Larkin's
posthumous bottom drawer denuded, deserves to be similarly
successful. Among many other delights, we read Larkin on his own
poetry, on Hull, on Housman, Hardy, MacNeice, Auden and Betjeman,
on Evelyn Waugh as a letter writer, on his desert island discs
(classics, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith; chosen book, the complete
plays of Bernard Shaw). The index has, at a guess, 750 names, which
gives an idea of the scope of the collection (Desert Island Discs,
incidentally, is not indexed, so you'll have to look it up under
Plomley, Roy). Inevitably one finds oneself, as in a conversation
with a friend, learning about topics in which one has no previous
interest - the last two minor short stories of Ian Fleming, the
possibility that Christina Rossetti had a secret married lover, a
whole batallion of minor books now little read. This is a tiny
frustration for any reader blessed with such good companionship.
Larkin's gift as a reviewer and interviewee was a combination of
super-sharp insight, transparent thinking, flashes of dry wit, and
a relaxed manner devoid of pomp or pretension. He's oddly touching
on being a librarian, on the day job that made literary effort so
often seem like the road not taken. Especially entertaining is the
slightly tense interview with Anthony Thwaite on The Oxford Book of
Twentieth-century English Verse, in which Larkin's bluntly mundane
answers steadfastly refuse to raise the tone. "Once you'd accepted
the ideas [of the book]," asks Thwaite, "how did you go about it?"
"Well, in simplistic terms, I read all the poetry produced in this
century, which took about four and half years, and then picked out
the bits I liked the best." ... and he continues in this vein with
admirable tenacity. This is a fine bedtime or loo book, enjoyable
for some of the most honest responses to literature and belles
lettres you are likely to come across. (Kirkus UK)
Philip Larkin's Required Writing, a selection from his
miscellaneous prose from 1953-82, was highly praised and enjoyed
when it appeared in 1983. Further Requirements gathers together
many other interviews, broadcasts, statements and reviews. Some of
them date from the period after he had chosen the contents of
Required Writing; others come from obscure publications, including
some early pieces. This second edition of Further Requirements
includes two more essays by Larkin: 'Operation Manuscript' and his
Introduction to Earth Memories by Llewelyn Powys.
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