The Poem that Saved My Life
A poetry deep dive: Philip Larkin's 'Aubade'
At the beginning of the year, when I asked what I could give you more of, the most popular option was poetry deep dives. Whether as writers or readers, poetry enriches our lives in numerous ways, and the better we understand its inner workings, the more pleasure it brings.
Yesterday I had the great pleasure of being the opening keynote speaker for the Philip Larkin Society’s 2026 conference, which gave me an opportunity to drill into my favourite Larkin poem, ‘Aubade’. This seems the perfect time to deliver your first poetry deep dive, pulled from that talk.
I hoped to record myself speaking the poem before leaving for Hull, but ran out of time. I will add a recording here next week when I return, but for now, here’s the poem. I suggest you read it first and then dive right in.
