Letter: Wellington should celebrate its Philip Larkin link
Thursday 3rd March 2011, 5:59AM GMT.
An open letter to Councillor Eric Carter.
I refer to the report in the Shropshire Star (17/2/2011) that the road name Larkin Way is “up for grabs”.
I write as a resident, a member of the committee planning the Literary Festival and a former principal of New College.
I think it would be misguided to remove from Wellington its association with one of the foremost poets (and novelists) of the 20th century.
Philip Larkin is probably the only major literary figure to have been associated with Wellington.
While it is true he was not happy here, it was his most creative period and as well as writing some of his most significant poetry his novel “A Girl in Winter” owes much to his recollection of Wellington and his own emotional involvement with a local girl at the time.
It is important to remember that it was his first post as a librarian
To remove Larkin’s name from Wellington sends out precisely an image which residents and councillors will wish to avoid – that of a small town with limited cultural scope, with no interest in the wider world of the arts in general and responsible for a philistine rejection of a great poet.
The new thoroughfare will be close enough to the library for it to continue to bear Larkin’s name.
Perhaps the planners should consider naming the new Library ‘The Philip Larkin Library’.
Wellington should continue to be proud of its association with Philip Larkin.
Geoffrey Marmion
Wellington
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Well Said, Couldn’t agree more.
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I also agree that Wellington should celebrate it’s link with one of England’s most famous poets. What about a small statue?
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