The poem
When getting my nose in a book Cured most things short of school, It was worth ruining my eyes To know I could still keep cool, And deal out the old right hook To dirty dogs twice my size.
Later, with inch-thick specs, Evil was just my lark: Me and my coat and fangs Had ripping times in the dark. The women I clubbed with sex! I broke them up like meringues.
Don't read much now: the dude Who lets the girl down before The hero arrives, the chap Who's yellow and keeps the store Seem far too familiar. Get stewed: Books are a load of crap.
this is amazing. i feel inspired.
i love phil
xx
his poetry is very sensual and i can feel the vibes around me when im reading it. his poetry is very inspiring as after i have read it i tackled one of the largest mountains in the andes. it gave me the strength and the motivation to tackle this phenomenal construction that nature has provided us. his words are truly memorable and i recite them when the going gets tough. im larkin till i die.
Sounds like he couldn't get it up in bed
"lets the girl down before the hero arrives"
This has some resonance for me.
I don't know anything about Larkins youth\life but this poem has to be autobiographical..? I guess as a child he used to dive into a book to avoid dealing with problems and people (women?). As he grew up he realised this was a mistake. I think maybe he overcompensated(?) Chased women to the point of mania?? Anyway he regets past choices and the life path it lead him to. The last line is a warning, don't make my mistakes: 'books are crap'.
the author actually went to college to become a professional librarian so i don't think that he thinks 'books are a load of crap.' this is probably from a different viewpoint of maybe someone he knows or a time in life when he is feeling as if he has wasted his life on these books that he has invested his life in but since he is a poet and novelist i don't think that he would consider books as such. These may be actual experiences but maybe a dramatization of feelings.