Poetry Challenge #308-Regular People
Philip Larkin (1922-1985) was a well-known and well-liked English poet. He wrote only four short books of poetry, but they were written in a way that spoke to regular people—even people who thought they didn’t like poetry.
“Poetry from which even people who distrust poetry, most people, can take comfort and delight,”—X.J. Kennedy, New Criterion.
Larkin’s collections, published once a decade, include The North Ship (1945), Less Deceived (1955), The Whitsun Weddings (1964), and High Windows (1974).
He was one of post-war England’s most famous poets and was commonly referred to as “England’s other Poet Laureate,” but eschewed the opportunity to be the Poet Laureate because he shied away from attention.
Larkin used the tools of poetry such as rhyme, rhythm, and stanzas to explore everyday fears people are faced with. “The Mower” dealt with death:
You can guess the subject of this poem by it’s title, “Days”? (That’s the way with many of Larkin’s poems.) “Days” was written in 1953 and included in Larkin’s The Whitsun Weddings.
Poetry Challenge #308
Regular People
Think of a fear people face today and write a short poem examining it.
Try using rhythm or rhyme and give advice if you want!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Write It!
Other poems by Philip Larkin can be found at the Poetry Foundation website. *Warning, Larkin’s poetry should come with an R rating.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2600+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
