Philip Larkin & Fountain Pens

[sandy101]

I'm reading Philip Larkin's letters. Whilst he drafted his poems in 2B Royal Sovereign pencils, he used a Fountain pen to write some of his letters.

 

In his letter dated 17 April 1941 he writes, "The writing of this will be awful because I'm being forced to write on the back of an awful nib." On 16 April he calls it a vile pen (no mention of the brand).

 

Considering, he's just survived another round of bombing (Coventry was very badly hit through-out the blitz) the letter reads as rather matter of fact and has some understatement.

 

That said, Larkin was an entertaining letter writer and it contrasts sharply with how people come to view him through his poetry. yes, the themes are in the letter, but there's also a love of jazz and playing with language.

[cleosmama]

Thank you for the mention of Larkin and his letters. I like his poems very much, and I'll have to take a look at his letters. I know there was some question of publishing them because of the contents of some of them, I think. Or perhaps it was because he would not have wanted them published (?). It would be interesting to hear speculations on what sort of pen he might have used at that time.

[sandy101]

There are two books of letters - The Selected Letters (which I've only started) and Letters to Monica (which are letters he wrote to one of his loves - Monica Jones).

 

I think the problem people have had with the letters is that they reveal more of Larkin, the man, rather than Larkin the poet.

 

The letters reveal Larkin to be quite right wing in his political views and capable of a liberal use of foul language and dirty jokes. There is a problem with the context as one is never quite sure whether to read some of the comments as a "joke between friends" or as a sincerely held belief. Certainly Larkin seems to poke fun at a lot of things and uses exaggeration a lot, so you're not quite sure how to read it, and since I'm reading for pleasure, I don't really have to make that decision.

 

Letters to Monica is a good place to start - it is a weighty volume, so an e-book may be preferable. I found a copy in my local library.