Church Going Resources

Follow the link below to check out some pearls of wisdom from our man, Philip Larkin.

Do you really, really love Larkin? Then why not join the Philip Larkin Society, and get access to its illustrated newsletter, About Larkin?

Like the title says, here's Larkin's official page on the British Broadcast Corporation's website.

Here's a blogger who has a solid handle on Philip Larkin.

Here's Part 1 of an amazing three-part video, featuring readings from Larkin's poetry and a great sit-down with John Betjeman. Around the 5:30 minute mark of Part 2, you actually have a rare video of Larkin walking around a church and acting out the scenes of "Church Going."

Check out this news story about the discovery of some lost tapes of Larkin reading.

Here, you get Larkin himself reading his poem, "Church Going." Give it a listen and you might realize things about the poem that just reading it might not have told you.

In the clip, you can hear Larkin reading his super-famous, super-creepy poem about death. Some of the stuff he says about religion might give you new insights into "Church Going."

Here's the look of a man who's got something important to write.

Someone did a really great job of capturing the spooky side of Larkin's face.

Yikes—people always talk about how homely Larkin was, but he wasn't a bad-looking kid.

Here's a really quirky and interesting article, in which famous author Martin Amis (son of Larkin's buddy, Kingsley Amis), reflects on the failures of Larkin's love life in a way that only those dour Brits can do.

Follow this link to a super-informative article about the often-rocky relationship between Philip Larkin and famous author Kingsley Amis.

Once again, The Paris Review gives us a fantastic, in-depth look at a great poet through the poet's own words.

If you can get yourself a copy, this book contains some great insights on Larkin's poetry by many different critics and writers, including the great Irish poet Seamus Heaney.

In this book, Sisir Kumar Chatterjee aggressively argues against people who find Larkin depressing and pessimistic, suggesting that Larkin's poetry is actually full of hope and love. It's a cup-half-full take on Larkin.