What do you know? It turns out that Ruth got a Guardian obit. Not a bad one, either, as these things go: she's had far more dismissive treatments in the past.
He is/was at Hull - presumably interviewed her for the book (and was part of the Larkin Society). O think he edited an edition of the girls' school stories. James once told us the story of how when he (Booth) was putting together a petition against Apartheid at the University, someone asked Larkin what he thought of this. "I think it's wonderful that we have a list of all the pricks in the university," the great poet responded.
We did suggest James include this in his book and have the index entry, "pricks, see under James Booth". I don't think he took the suggestion...
Sadly, that anecdote about Larkin doesn't suprise me in the least. This is a man who grew up in a house with a statuette of Hitler on the mantel, with - I kid you not - a push-button Sieg heil action. He was some way to the left of his father, but probably somewhat to the right of Mrs Thatcher.
Wow -- neat. I wonder what was in those letters. What do you know about her grandfather? Was he, is he a great grandfather of yours? There must be some interesting story there too.
Yes, that would be my great-grandfather - apparently something of a patriarch, in the primitive methodist mould. However, when that same story about her being forced to burn the letters by him appeared in Andrew Motion's Larkin biography, Ruth told me that it wasn't true at all, and that she'd burned them off her own bat, and that with a grim satisfaction. Going by Larkin's poem "Wild Oats", there must have been over four hundred of them, so it was quite a bonfire.
Later, when she saw how much people like Jim Sutton got for selling their Larkin letters, she regretted it. But I think they would probably have shown a very different side to Larkin from the Amissy laddishness which is what we mostly hear about by default.
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Date: 2013-01-26 10:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-01-26 11:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-01-26 01:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-01-26 02:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-01-26 03:49 pm (UTC)He is/was at Hull - presumably interviewed her for the book (and was part of the Larkin Society). O think he edited an edition of the girls' school stories. James once told us the story of how when he (Booth) was putting together a petition against Apartheid at the University, someone asked Larkin what he thought of this. "I think it's wonderful that we have a list of all the pricks in the university," the great poet responded.
We did suggest James include this in his book and have the index entry, "pricks, see under James Booth". I don't think he took the suggestion...
(no subject)
Date: 2013-01-26 06:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-01-26 01:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-01-26 02:13 pm (UTC)Later, when she saw how much people like Jim Sutton got for selling their Larkin letters, she regretted it. But I think they would probably have shown a very different side to Larkin from the Amissy laddishness which is what we mostly hear about by default.