Ann Thwaite: Wordplay, friendship and sweet sadness: having Philip to stay
Julian Barnes: Larkin had a calm, clear voice – and in 1971, I felt he was speaking directly to me
Blake Morrison: His most memorable lines came from a search for wisdom and authenticity
Rachel Cooke: I know I sound slightly mad when I say it, but Philip Larkin saved my life
Andrew Motion: As a child, he stammered so badly he couldn’t even ask for a railway ticket
Daljit Nagra: What would he have made of my books being published alongside his?
Emily Berry: Few poets today would care, or dare, to put their mean sides so boldly on display
Rowan Williams: Perhaps we should think of him as a very unusual kind of love poet. Love doesn’t work for Larkin
Michael Henderson: His denunciations of jazz villains still leave readers honking with laughter
Margaret Drabble: Why spend one’s life in fear of death? Larkin asked the question but had no answer
This article appears in the 27 Jul 2022 issue of the New Statesman, Summer Special