Philip Larkin (9 August 1922 - 2 December 1985)

Philip Larkin by Gill of East Riding Books

I started my bookselling career in the 1960s at the bookshop of Hull University.
A regular customer in those days was Philip Larkin, the university librarian. He came to prominence in 1955 with the publication of his second collection of poems, The Less Deceived, published by the Marvel Press, which was a small, local publishing house, literally a small house, next to an off-licence and a fish-and-chip shop.

Jean Hartley, Philip Larkin, the Marvel Press and Me

His third book of poetry, The Whitsun Weddings (1964) was published during my time there. I well remember many customers eagerly awaiting the day of publication and a large number of copies had been ordered anticipating the demand.

Larkin was chosen in a 2003 Poetry Book Society survey, almost two decades after his death, as Britain's best-loved poet of the previous 50 years, and in 2008 The Times named him Britain's greatest post-war writer.

This year a number of cultural events have marked the 25 years since Larkin's death
in 1985. Larkin's adopted home, Kingston upon Hull where he spent 30 years, is marking the anniversary with the Larkin 25 Festival, taking place over 25 weeks, from 12 June - 2 December 2010.

There is a tourist trail of all the places that inspired the poet; his work place, the Brynmor Jones Library; his lodgings at the top floor of a house in Pearson Park which prompted him to use the title High Windows for his last major poetry collection; his home in the mid 70s in Newland Park is also included as are the shops, restaurants and pubs where he drank and listened to his favourite music, he was jazz critic for the Daily Telegraph for ten years. The trail extends also to the East Riding countryside and the old churches Larkin used to visit on his bicycle.



Larkin's Jazz: Essays and Reviews

Larkin with Toads. 40 giant toad sculptures, each about 1m tall and made of fibreglass were commissioned and have been decorated by artists and community groups. They were on display in various areas of the city from July to September. The inspiration for these sculptures were his poems "Toads" and "Toads Revisited".

On 25th September the toads were auctioned and raised over £60,000. Bids ranged from £1250 to £3600 per toad which far exceeded expectations. Many of the toads have been bought by private bidders from all over the country, a few will remain on public view in the city with four staying in their current locations. Proceeds from the sale will go to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, arts funds and the Lord Mayor's charities.

Following a competitive commissioning process to select a sculptor to create a lasting memorial to Larkin, internationally renowned sculptor Martin Jennings was selected to create a statue of Larkin at Hull Paragon Interchange. The statue will be unveiled on 2 December 2010, the exact anniversary of Larkin's death and the closing date of the Larkin25 commemorations.

Punkphibian Artist: Liz Dees

Books by and about Philip Larkin including first editions, poetry collections and literary criticism can be found amongst the stock of the following Ibooknet members:


C L Hawley
Plurabelle Books
Stephen Foster

Royal Society Prize for Science Books 2010

The shortlisted authors and judges are having a discussion at this free event at the Royal Society in Carlton House Terrace, London, on 21 October at 6.30pm. If you have any questions you'd like to put to them, from past experience I suggest you get there to join the queue ages before 5.45, the time the doors open, as it's no booking, just turn up. They do usually have an overflow video feed to cater for the excess, but then you might as well stay at home and watch it on the live broadcast at royalsociety.org/live or at your leisure later on at royalsociety.tv.
The shortlisted books are: A World Without Ice by Henry Pollack; Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic by Frederick Grinnell; God’s Philosophers: How the medieval world laid the foundations of modern science by James Hannam; Life Ascending by Nick Lane; We Need To Talk About Kelvin by Marcus Chown; and Why Does E=mc2? by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw

Enid Blyton's papers saved

Well, some of them. Bearing in mind her prolific output, very few original manuscripts have survived. Blyton's daughter, the late Gillian Baverstock, had some, and they have now been sold. Seven Stories Museum, in Newcastle, has bought seven, including three Famous Fives.

Whatever you think about Enid Blyton's oeuvre, she is still immensely collectable. I had a short and intense Blyton phase as a child. I remember overhearing my mother talking to a friend as I worked my way through a pile of Blytons from the library. "Why ever do you let Jane readthose?" asked the friend. "It's a phase," replied my mother. "She'll read them all and that will be that. If I try and stop her she'll hang on to them forever." I remember at the time being impressed with this piece of motherly wisdom. She was quite right, too. I finished my Blyton phase, and have never been able to read one since. I have tried. Just can't do it. I wonder if mother had banned them if I'd now have a priceless collection of dustjacketed Blyton beauties, instead of a collection redolent of horse.

For those with a serious Blyton habit, Ibooknet members have some marvellous books in stock, catering to all pockets, from Stella and Rose's lovely first edition of The Magic Faraway Tree (£1,800),

to Peakirk Books' Five Have Plenty of Fun (£10.00) and March House Books' The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters (£26.00).

Bailey Hill Book Shop in The Guardian

Ibooknet member Bailey Hill Book Shop has been mentioned in a nice piece in The Guardian My Perfect Days out in the UK. Scroll to just over half way and the section subtitled: Amy Jenkins, screenwriter – Arthurian legends and a hard boiled egg, Somerset.

Amy Jenkins says:

"Next stop is nearby Castle Cary, one of the prettiest hamstone towns in the area. Make sure you take in the charming Round House, built in 1779 to lock up local miscreants, and then head for Bailey Hill Bookshop (01963 350917, baileyhillbookshop.co.uk), which is the nicest I know. There's a lovely upstairs gallery where the secondhand books are kept and you are welcome to sit for hours and browse."

Roald Dahl Funny Prize

Held at The National Theatre on Saturday 11 September 2010, the Roald Dahl Funny Prize is part of the annual celebration of legendary children’s author, Roald Dahl.

Michael Rosen, poet and former Children’s Laureate, is the brains behind the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. To mark the third year of the prize and the fifth annual Roald Dahl Day, he is joined by a host of special guests including author Philip Ardagh and comedian Shappi Khorsandi, both Roald Dahl Funny Prize judges.

Side-splitting stories, revolting rhymes, and priceless poems are guaranteed to make you and your children guffaw. Even the book-signing afterwards will have you in stitches.

Click here to buy tickets for the event

The prize has two categories:

• The funniest book for children aged six and under

• The funniest book for children aged seven to fourteen

Verily Anderson, 1915-2010

Verily Anderson was an author whose writing received what her obituarist in The Times called "respectful attention". The daughter of a vicar, she was born in Edgbaston, and grew up in East Sussex, where she went to Normanhurst School. Here, whether you owned a horse or not, foxhunting was on the curriculum. Verily Anderson showed some musical talent, and was accepted at the Royal College of Music, but her time there ended abruptly. Her father stopped paying the fees when it became clear she would not succeed as a concert pianist.

As a child, she had been a keen guide, and had many badges. Using these as qualifications, she embarked on a varied series of jobs: designing toffee papers; a chauffeur, and by 1939, a sub-editor on The Guide, the Guides' magazine.

In 1940 she married Donald Anderson, a playwright, and the couple both became freelance writers. They had five children, and when Donald died in 1956, Verily Anderson had to support the family on her own. She wrote about bringing up her family on virtually nothing (the wonderfully named Spam Tomorrow as well as five others), and wrote the eight book Brownie series. Alas, the Brownie books were considered too exciting by the Girl Guide Association for it to support them.

I had no Brownie experience with which to compare them, having not been allowed to join the Brownies, but I found the books completely enchanting as a child: they were a window into another world where girls worked together and had adventures.

Verily Anderson carried on writing virtually until her death. The day before she died, she finished a book about Herstmonceux Castle.

This piece is illustrated with the following:

Daughters of Divinity: Hart-Davis, London, 1960. 1st edition hardback in dw, vg/vg. Very clean copy in d/w that has slightly browned in places. This book comes from Malcolm Saville's book collection, and contains the inscription "Malcolm Saville best wishes Verily Anderson" on fep. £70.00 Peakirk Books

Brownies on Wheels: Brockhampton Press, 1st edn, 1966. VG/VG. Very good book in very good dustjacket. No previous owner's name, pages clean, binding tight. Black and white illustrations by Edgar Norfield. Very good unclipped dustjacket (9/6) with minimal wear to spine tips and corners. A holiday for Brownies in a real gipsy caravan! The trek into the New Forest provides Amanda, Tulip, Lucinda and their Brownie friends with an exciting holiday, but it also proves how resourceful Brownies can be... £10.00 March House Books

Conan Doyle's old house, Undershaw, to be redeveloped

Undershaw is the house Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived in, having had it built in 1897 as his wife needed to move into the country for health reasons. He lived there for ten years, and wrote while there, among other things, The Hound of the Baskervilles. The Undershaw Preservation Trust would like to turn the Grade II listed building into a museum, but in June Waverley District Council granted listed building and planning consent for the conversion of the house into three apartments with an extension containing five town houses. The council has previously spent over £70,000 on emergency repairs to the building which had been neglected by the owners.

There has been a lengthy campaign, the latest stage of which has seen a number of people, including Conan Doyle’s great-great-nephews, Joshua and Oliver Conan Doyle, writing to Jeremy Hunt, MP for South West Surrey - he had previously been in favour of preserving the property. Stephen Fry, Christopher Frayling and Uri Geller are listed among the campaign's supporters.

You can read on at Bagotbooks's Blog.