Larkin in Objects, Objects in Larkin: Clarissa Hard and Francesca Gardner
At the time of recording this podcast we received the sad news that our founding chairman Professor Eddie Dawes had passed away on the 3rd March 2023 at the age of 97. Gavin and I were very privileged to be able to record the very first Tiny podcast with Eddie at his home in Hull. Eddie was so open to new ideas and ways of doing things. He was so supportive of my crazy idea to have a society podcast and was extremely patient as I fussed around with my microphone and notes. But I knew that Eddie had to be our very first guest- he was- and still is- the world’s leading authority on the history of magic, a pioneering biochemist, the PLS chairman for over 20 years and good friends with Philip Larkin himself. A remarkable lifetime and a really lovely, gentle person who, as current chair Graham Chesters said, did indeed wear his exceptional gifts lightly. Our guests this week are Clarissa Hard, PLS trustee and editor of About Larkin, and Francesca Gardner, who join me to talk about things and objects- objects in Larkin’s poetry and the significant objects in Larkin’s life; cigarette packets, socks, lawnmowers, vases, photo albums and more. Francesca Gardner Larkin’s Meditating Machines (PLS Conference 2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHFDxFakbq4 Clarissa Hard Larkin: Churchgoer? (PLS Conference 2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PARTGcDGyq8 Home is So Sad, from 1st April to 13th May at Beverley Art gallery. Home is So Sad presents newly commissioned paintings and installation art by Seoul-based artists Yeonkyoung Lee and Sam Robinson. Their work reflects a long-standing interest in the life and work of Philip Larkin, the details of everyday life, and the idea of ‘home’ as a fluid concept. Alongside this, the artists have selected pieces from the permanent collections of East Riding Museums and the Philip Larkin Society. During the exhibition there is an additional display of Larkin artefacts on show in the red gallery and there is a beautiful vase used as the main image on the publicity poster of course. https://www.eastridingmuseums.co.uk/whats-on/?entry=home_is_so_sad A Joyous Shot Friday 14th April, East Riding Theatre, Beverley An evening of Larkin inspired words and music with Hull writer Vicky Foster, Beverley poet Chris Sewart and The Mechanicals Band- all of whom are old friends of the podcast. Please come along and enjoy what I’m sure will be a wonderful evening. https://www.eastridingtheatre.co.uk/philip-larkin-a-joyous-shot/ Larkin poems discussed: High Windows, The Mower, Aubade, Wires, Aubade, Reference Back, Ambulances, Afternoons, Self’s The Man, Dockery and Son, Here, The Whitsun Weddings, Home Is So Sad. Other books and references: Rime of the Ancient Mariner by ST Coleridge, Ozymandia by PB Shelley, The Mower by Andrew Marvell, Richard Bradford, The Importance of Elsewhere (Francis Howard Publishing, 2015), J. H. Prynne Acquisition of Love, Mark Waldron I wish I loved lawnmowers, Bill Brown Thing Theory, Gaston Bachelard The Material Imagination. Podcast produced by Lyn Lockwood and Gavin Hogg PLS Membership and information: The Philip Larkin Society – Philip Larkin Theme music: 'The Horns Of The Morning' by The Mechanicals Band. Buy 'The Righteous Jazz' at their Bandcamp page: https://themechanicalsband.bandcamp.com/album/the-righteous-jazz