Somewhere Becoming Rain: Collected Writings on Philip Larkin

by Clive James

Clive James is a life-long admirer of the work of Philip Larkin. Somewhere Becoming Rain gathers all of James’s writing on this towering literary figure of the twentieth century, together with extra material now published for the first time. The greatness of Larkin’s poetry continues to be obscured by the opprobrium attaching to his personal life and his private opinions. James writes about Larkin’s poems, his novels, his jazz and literary criticism; he also considers the two major biographies, Larkin’s letters and even his portrayal on stage in order to chart the extreme and, he argues, largely misguided equivocations about Larkin’s reputation in the years since his death. Through this joyous and perceptive book, Larkin’s genius is delineated and celebrated. James argues that Larkin’s poems, adored by discriminating readers for over half a century, could only have been the product of his reticent, diffident, flawed, and all-too-human personality. Erudite and entertaining in equal measure, Somewhere Becoming Rain is a love letter from one of the world’s best living writers to one of its most cherished poets.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Essays

107 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2019

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

An expatriate Australian broadcast personality and author of cultural criticism, memoir, fiction, travelogue and poetry. Translator of Dante.

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuts and pastes all of James's writings on Larkin into a single book. It's largely the same as the material collected previously in Reliable Essays but with a few extras, just for you.

The extras are reviews of the two Larkin biographies, an ephemeral stage show based on Larkin's life, and Letters Home. Oddly, James doesn't cover Letters to Monica or Further Requirements, and he doesn't seem to have heard of Jonathan Tulloch's recent novel and feature-length homage to the great man Larkinland.

Was it worth it? If you already own Reliable Essays, probably not. There a few changes to the text: a line musing whether Michelangelo would have been a better artist 'had he been less bent' now reads 'had he been less gay'; there is the suggestion that in 'To the Sea' Larkin was channelling Burnt Norton. A scattering of footnotes fill in other blanks such as naming the previously-anonymous playwright given to quoting the whole of 'Aubade' at the dinner table. Most readers had likely already sussed it was Harold Pinter.

If you don't already own Reliable Essays, this is the ideal place to start with James's criticism. My grandfather once told me that if you sit a learned, funny man down for an hour and let him riff on a subject dear to his heart, sparks will fly. Sparks fly from almost every one of these pages. The New Yorker review of the Collected Poems (1988 edition), which opens the volume, is a personal favourite. This review surely summoned forth the revised edition of the Collected Poems, and restored Larkin's strategic design with it.

The review of Tom Courtenay's stage show Pretending to be Me is the weakest part of the book. Ian McEwan's tut-tutting of James’s review, partly quoted, suggests the author knows it. But it's interesting to note that however much James gets into the big pieces, his smaller ones always have something fresh and vital to say. We learn that Larkin was chuffed to bits when James singled out All What Jazz as a key text in his oeuvre. It remains the best (because wittiest) outline of his aesthetic.

Throughout the book hums a note of irritation. For too long discussions about Larkin's private life crowded out discussions of his poems. Well, that stink cleared long ago, and for most readers, it never really mattered in the first place. Bonnie Greer and the other scolds can go on fuming. James was right from the start. Other writers such as Martin Amis, Alan Bennett and John Banville deserve some of the credit, but none deserves more than Clive James. His last, wonderful book will benefit the 'endless altered people' coming to Larkin for a long time yet.

[Laura Spira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who enjoys Larkin's poetry will appreciate this collection of Clive James' writings about his work. James himself is an accomplished poet and a fine critic who illuminates the subject of his analysis rather than imposing his own interpretations (there is a splendid vignette featuring Craig Raine who is rather more bombastic).

James already admired Larkin's work before he met him, when Larkin appeared at a performance by James in Hull. They established a friendship: several of Larkin's letters to him are reproduced here, together with James' poetic tribute on Larkin's death.

James is unhappy with the chronological structure of Larkin's collected works, published after his death: although he appreciates the inclusion of some impressive unpublished poems, he regrets the loss of the structure of the three earlier volumes. But James is rather more upset by the publication of Larkin's letters which revealed a darker and unattractive side of the poet. This enabled what James terms a "rush of dunces" to not only pick over the contents of the letters but, almost in passing, to denigrate the poetry. As James observes "The critical focus is, often now, so exclusively about his personal failings." This book corrects the balance, encourages the reader to read the poetry and also reminds us what a wonderful writer James himself is. I enjoyed it very much.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant, witty essays about Larkin and his poems, written over the course of James’ career. It is always enjoyable to read or hear an intelligent, humorous person expound on something they love.

[Kym Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book of essays about the great poet, Philip Larkin. Obviously, this will only be of interest to people who are interested in Larkin, but if you’re not can I suggest that you remedy that defect as soon as possible? Larkin must surely be the greatest poet since the end of the Great War; it is beyond doubt that he is the greatest poet since the Second World War.

All of the essays are very enjoyable to read, and James has an excellent way with words, sparks are often flying from the pages, and you can’t help but be caught up with James’s enthusiasm for Larkin’s works. He also offers a very succinct and compelling defence of the life of the great poet, whilst fully giving criticism where it is due.

James also makes a few prescient comments about the parlous state of academia and literary criticism. As one example, he says, in discussing the racism inherent in some of Larkin’s private letters, “… treating these themes in [a stage show] there is neither time nor room. They would have to be raised in class. Ideally it would be a literature class in which race relations might occasionally be discussed, but the rule of dunces may soon ensure that it will be a race relations class where literature is occasionally discussed, and only as evidence for the prosecution.” That certainly seemed to sum up much of my experience in studying literature at university, only a few years after this essay had been written (in 2005).

I was first introduced to the poetry of Larkin, in probably the best subject I studied at university, being Dethroning the Gods: The Modernists and their Enemies taught by the now sadly retired Peter Morton. As James puts it in one of the essays, “Modernism, according to Larkin, ‘helps us neither to enjoy nor endure‘. He defines Modernism as intellectualised art. Against intellectualism, he proposes not anti-intellectualism—which would be just another coldly willed program—but trust in the validity of emotion.… Larkin’s readability seems so effortless, that it tends to be thought of as something separate from his intelligence. But readability is intelligence.” I thought that was a good way to sum up Larkin’s crusade against Modernism in literature, and to show that anti-Modernism is not anti-intellectual, and the anti-Modernism is without doubt one of the major reasons for Larkin’s assured greatness and his ongoing appeal.

Recommended.

[Ian Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous collection of essays about Larkin and his poetry, writing and life. Mr James is clearly a huge fan and admirer and brings his not-inconsiderable intellect to bear on one of the best poets of the 20th Century. However, it is a collection of existing writings and tends to take a fairly scattergun approach as a whole to the subject, which can be frustrating if you want more of the excellent critiquing of the verse as we get in the first chapter. But more Clive is always welcome.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of articles and reviews Clive James wrote about Philip Larkin, which is pretty obvious from the title. If there's a theme here, apart from wanting to demonstrate that Larkin was one of the greatest poets in the English language, it is rehabilitating Larkin's work from the damage done to his reputation as a person by his posthumous biography - written by Andrew Motion - and letters.

They make him out to be something of a racist and sexist. James repeatedly points out that a man that wrote 'For Sidney Bechet' could not be an actual racist and that his comments in his letters were there deliberately to shock those people who he was writing to. I'm not so sure that is entirely true. I've met racist football supporters whose teams are full of black players for whom they will make exceptions when it comes to their racist views. In some ways, it is a more sophisticated version of 'I can't possibly be really racist, some of my best friends are black'. In this case 'He can't possibly be racist, he likes jazz', which I'm not sure is as strong an argument in his favour as James thought it was. However, I'm more convinced by his argument that Larkin was doing a lot of this for shock value and in private letters to friends, but that still makes him a problematic poet.

Except does it? There's a perennial argument about whether the private life of an artist invalidates their work. There's a lot of artists out there. A lot of them were gits. Does that make their work worthless? No, I don't think it does but it does have to be taken into consideration. What it doesn't do is stop us having an emotional reaction to something.

Poetry is, I think, the supreme use of language. It's what language was invented for.* And Larkin is a great poet and this book does a fantastic job of getting you to think that and making you want to read all the Larkin, including his two novels 'Jill' and 'A Girl in Winter'. I read 'A Whitsun Wedding' recently and it was rather wonderful. I'm not sure I'm critically equipped, in the way James is, to explain why. To steal a cliche, 'I may not know a lot about poetry, but I know what I like.' And I like Larkin.

James has the knowledge, both critical and practical, to bring serious analysis to his writing, but as always does so with clarity. He's read a lot, seen a lot and is a poet himself. All of that helps make this a book worth reading. Indeed, this collection contains two of his own poems - 'The North Window' and 'A Valediction of Philip Larkin'. There's a thesis in this material about Larkin's value and how perhaps it is the art that makes the artist not the other way around. Larkin's view of life was pretty bleak, he seems to have been something of a git but his poetry is a thing of wonder. Clive James once said of himself, 'All I can do is turn a phrase until it catches the light' and I think the same can be applied to Larkin. And more so.

There's also a quote from Larkin that I think sums up how I feel about criticism. James quotes it on p45. It's from Larkin's 'All What Jazz', which is a collection of his Jazz reviews, which by and by is a book that James makes you want to read as it is a guide to how Larkin views on art. Indeed, there's an argument to be had with writers that critics sometimes focus only on their literary influences to explain their choices when a song, a film or a television series could equally have influenced how they write and the stories they want to write.

Anyway, that quote:

"[The critic]...must hold on to the principle that the only reason for praising a work is that it pleases, and the way to develop his critical sense is to be more acutely aware of whether he is being pleased or not."

This book pleases.



*Obviously that's not actually true but...

[Peter K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a challenging book for me for a reason that I am entirely responsible for in that I have read very little of Larkin's poetry merely being aware of his reputation as a lauded poet and also, since his death and the publication of his private letters, his reputation as someone who held racist and misanthropic views.

The recently departed Clive James is a writer who I have enjoyed reading , enjoying his lyrical turn of phrase both on the page and also on television. This book is a collection of his literary criticism of Larkin as well as more personal reflections on a poet who, there is no doubt at all, that he held in the highest of esteem and regard.

James takes the evidence of Larkin's racism and misanthropy head on and makes a passionate and evidenced case for why this should not fully inform our view of Larkin the person and colour our view of Larkin the poet.

James's energetic view is that much of what was said was part of a game Larkin played to shock unshockable friends in the privacy of his personal correspondence and that all evidence of his public face from the civility with which he treated all others, the diligence with which he undertook his public role as chief librarian of the University of Hull and his passionate advocacy and admiration of jazz musician Sidney Bechet point to a reality less troubling to reflect upon.

Whether Clive James is right or not is by the by, those seeking to tear down Larkin's legacy have all of the evidence required, as do those wishing to protect and burnish it equally so, but the eloquence of this book shines out and for someone like me, uneducated both in the craft of Larkin as well as the life this was a fascinating read.

There are detailed critical reviews of work that I have not read which made me the poorer through my own lack of reading rather than anything produced by James's pen but one work of Larkin that did jump out at me because of this book was Aubade - his last great poem and a reflection upon death - and incredibly affecting to read - I glimpsed some of the magical craft that James wrote of in this book.

The other consistent thread running through this book was the author's attempt to unmask Larkin's self criticism of his own work, persona, even attractiveness to women as nothing more than a ruse to deflect attention and cast off the limelight. In a book full of interest and engagement this strand fascinated me and contributed significantly to my enjoyment of the book.

[Tim Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small book is a timely and poignant reminder
That there was no-one better than Clive James at the artfully arch phrase: Tom Courtney, reading ‘Aubade’ ‘adds colour but only as the uninvited arrival of a circus barker would add colour to a funeral’; the work of a cloth-eared critics is ‘apt to induce a pain in the critical neck’; the how and why of something is ‘a double-egged yolk of rhetorical questions’; Motion’s biography of Larkin is welcome as ‘it is always good to know more, as long as we don’t end up knowing less’; those critics of the unsavoury views such books exposed are accused of ‘matching his feet of clay with their ears of cloth’; Larkin’s ‘Required Writing would be a treasure house even if every second page were printed upside down. Lacking the technology to accomplish this, the publishers have issued the book in paperback only, with no index, as if to prove that no matter how self-effacing its author might be, they can be even more so on his behalf.’

The theme that runs through the book like the letters in a stick of rock is that Larkin’s genius is undiminished by his diminishing epistolary prose, especially the racist, sexist letters that he sent to friends. James does a good job here, but towards the end still seems to be falling into another trap, that of assuming the persona of the letter writer has to be that of the writer himself, a mistake he’d never make with the poetry. And Larkin’s letters are every bit acts of artistic creation. Not for nothing did Kingsley Amis lament, after Larkin’s death, that no more would the envelope with the postmark ‘Hull’ herald another sparklingly entertaining epistolary exchange. As James says elsewhere ‘if Larkin made racist remarks in order to be outrageous, then he was no racist. A racist makes racist remarks because he thinks they are true.’

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clive James was a wonderful writer and Philip Larkin was a wonderful poet, so a collection of James' writings on Larkin is a very worthwhile read. Picador, making up for the lack of pages have produced a very good quality hardback, and by doing so pushing the price up to something that feels a little steep for the amount of text contained (I bought it half price from Waterstones, though, so for me it was excellent value).

The quality of the writing thankfully matches the quality of the presentation. James writings, which include reviews and introductions broadly cover the period from the mid 1970s to the 2000s, the end of Larkin's career and post-mortem. It also covers his poetry, novels, jazz reviews and letters, as well as review of Tom Courtenay's one man show which I dimly remember going to see 20 years ago.

The question at the heart of the later writings is that of the relationship between the art and the artist - especially when the artist concerned is known to be a misanthropic, racist, porn addict (the first I think was known during Larkin's lifetime, the latter two suspected but only proven with the publication of his letters). James anticipates the world of "cancel culture" and tries his best to defend Larkin's writings, and indeed the public man, against his outrageous and sad private persona.

I'm convinced about the genius of the poems, and re-read them regularly. I'm less convinced that Larkin himself can be easily rehabilitated. James' regular refrain that Larkin was scrupulously courteous as a librarian and that no-one who could have written his adulatory poem on Sidney Bechet could be a "true racist". Well I suppose that rather depends on your definition of true racist, but it is quite possible to adulate one man and despise everyone else who looks like him. Larkin's letters are funny in a Viz-kind of way "bum bum bum bum" but I do wonder whether the private Larkin revealed therein is the true one, and frankly a pretty unpleasant one. None of which will prevent me from reading Dockery and Son, an Arundel Tomb or the exquisite Aubade with any diminution in pleasure or admiration.

[Ric Cheyney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of writings on the poet Philip Larkin was gathered together rather than written as a whole piece. It naturally contains some repetition of main ideas and opinions. Despite that, the range of topic is wide enough to fill this little book with pleasures aplenty.

James is an erudite critic and an accomplished poet himself so he has many elegant ways of explaining what made Larkin “the finest poet of his generation.” It’s partly the gift, of course, which resembles a curse: “His sense of inadequacy, his fear of death are in every poem.” But it is also the burden of duty and, even more, a huge amount of painstaking hard work. Where some critics see three empty years before ‘Aubade’, James sensibly believes that so masterful a poem would probably take three years to write.

If you love Larkin’s work, including his novels and journalism, you will certainly enjoy this affirmatory collection. James finds the comic in the correspondence, quoting the description of a meal: “the turf-like salmon…..fried in engine oil.” And James shows impressive comic and critical skills of his own. Here’s one example that made me laugh and weep simultaneously:
“I wasn’t smart enough – or wasn’t yet sick enough – to know that we can get very near the end and still be thankful to have lived. He would have said otherwise, but you couldn’t trust him.”

James the poet is at his best when expressing his appreciation of the master. He can be funny, as when describing Larkin’s recorded voice: “He sounded like someone who expects to be interrupted.” And he can be most aptly visual, as here on Larkin’s perceived limitations of focus: “the beam cuts BECAUSE it’s narrow.”

For all its brevity, this book covers many different aspects of a writer whose quality and depth seem to grow with each re-reading.

[Gabe Thornes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed to discover that this was in fact a collection of essays with an introduction and coda, and not a structured extended essay on my favourite poet. Such a book would no doubt have stood shoulder to shoulder with G K Chesterton’s short odes to St Francis and St Thomas. Nonetheless, the reader will discern an equal reverence felt for the unofficial patron saint of witty, acerbic, English poetry. James was himself a class above when it comes to the written word and these pieces range from quite good to majestic; Although the nature of the collection means that one is treated to repeated allusions to Larkin’s sex life, his private racism (and the degree to which it was in jest) and his under-appreciated jazz reviews.
I was pleasantly surprised to read about the correct emphasis in the closing line of An Arundel Tomb, as this is something that I myself have pondered. Alan Bennett, in his brilliant Poetry In Motion, places the stress on ‘survive’ (the word which is here suggested as being the correct word to stress), but a rendition of the poem by Mr Larkin himself records him placing the stress on ‘us’. I’m not sure if James was aware of this recording, but it contradicts the point he was making. I personally opt for the cadence deployed by Alan Bennett- it universalises the closing sentiment to all mankind, making this pristine line ring even more eternally true. Which all sounds very unlike Larkin, which is probably why his own reading does no such thing!
Aside from such esoteric linguistic points, there is much to enjoy in this little volume. Four stars.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clive James had a towering intellect and he writes divinely with clarity, wit, and erudition. This collection of essays, all on Philip Larkin, are soaked in admiration for the poet, essayist, and lover of jazz. His admiration never wavers. His long eulogizing poem notes, such is the love for Larkin among his admirers, that each will remember where he was when he heard the news of Larkin's death.

James is not shy about dispatching those who are not admirers, doing so with understated ferocity.

The newly written introduction is surely one of James's last essays before he too went on safari. It is superb and worth the price of the book itself. In it, he suggests that so fine was Larkin's sensory equipment that he "could hear the fizz" light made passing through a window.

Also in the introduction, he recounts a point of difference with his secretary who, like James, could recite at will any of the poems. He held that High Windows closed darkly whereas his secretary felt uplift. In this I side with the secretary.

[Jeff Howells · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite critic writing about my favourite poet. James on Larkin, a match made in heaven. These pieces span decades, from contemporaneous reviews of Larkin’s poetry to reviews of his collected prose, onto reviews of the books (and play) that followed Larkin’s death. Throughout it, he is a fan of the poetry and a defender of the man (neither were easy following the publication of Larkin’s collected letters).
The thesis he puts forward - and it’s one I also subscribe to - is you can’t condemn a person based on their private thoughts, and you certainly shouldn’t condemn a person’s professional work based on your assumptions of them as a person. Irrespective of what he put in private letters to friends (designed to shock) he was notably kind and courteous to everyone in public. That does have to count for something.
Larkin is our greatest poet - and this book tells us why.

[Jeremy Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What will survive of us?
I bought this to add to my CJ collection a week or so before the author's death last year, and read it last week. Just about all of the pieces are already available elsewhere in his anthologies (particularly his Reliable Essays), but it probably helps to have them collected together here in order to appreciate the force of James's sustained argument about Larkin's abilities (mostly) and character (partly). The small amount of extra material includes a few facsimiles of Larkin's letters to James which is nice to see and - to some extent - brings at least one of the correspondents to life.

Originally reviewed 9 January 2020

[Horatio · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays on Philip Larkin which the author had written for various magazines over the years, ranging from book reviews to general thematic observations on Larkin's style and work. I only read a few of the essays as I didn't have knowledge of most of the stuff that the author was covering, but the essays that I read were excellent and showed a very thorough and deep understanding of Larkin's works. The author also writes very well and is able to present probing and insightful observations in a simple to understand manner.

[Jonathan Natusch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming collection of Clive James's pieces about Larkin. James is about as dedicated a devotee of Larkin as you'll ever find, and he does a cracking job of talking the great poet up! I took a fair amount of time to read this, as it was very pleasant to read a piece, pick up my collection of Larkin's poems again, and then return to the essays in a week or two, ready for another immersion...

[Hugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of critical essays by Clive James about Philip Larkin’s poetry and various collections of letters and poems. Gives great insight into the man behind the poetry and puts his work in context. Highly recommend for a fan or critic of Larkin.

[Tom Wein · Rating 2 out of 5]

The final essay, reviewing Larkin's letters to his mother, is exemplary James. The rest is sometimes leaden criticism, urging rather than proving that the bigotry didn't matter so much. An incidental collected work, plus two bad poems.

[Michelle Dodd (Creaney) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t give anything about Philip Larkin, the man who makes despair beautiful, anything less than a score of four.

[Tom Greenwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Fantastically written. I would highly recommend this book. Especially to larkin devotees.

[Terry Madeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful to spend some time with two great writers.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of articles Clive James wrote on Philip Larkin over the years. For me this was a good introduction to Larkins poetry, written by a true admirer.

[Nigel McCarter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erudite, not an easy read, not sure what to make of some of the essays, but if you read Philip Larkin ...

[Phil Greaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. James loves Larkin and it shows. He's so well-read and loves poetry so dearly - or did, I suppose, RIP - that he can't help being interesting. It renewed my enthusiasm for Larkin, and for close reading - under a lamp, instead of going out - and pondering the imponderables (which Larkin did, of course, most famously in 'Aubade').

Incidentally, it's a beautiful, slim volume - you'll treasure it inside and out.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philip Larkin was lucky in having a stalwart and articulate champion in Clive James. No mean poet himself, he understood the magnitude of Larkin's achievement, the fact that the world of personal experience he mined was all the deeper for being narrower. Somewhere Becoming Rain is a collection of all James's pieces on Larkin from the early seventies to 2018 and is invaluable both as a celebration of the work of a great poet (who, as the author reminds us, was also a novelist and critic deserving of the greatest respect) and a reminder, in what proved to be his last book, of James's peerless prose style and critical nous.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book grateful that he had enough in him left for one more...he passed while I was reading it. Now I find he's got one in tow coming out next year. Bless him.
While I always enjoy reading CJ I was really disappointed with the book design itself. The fans of Larkin, James and poetry in general are overwhelming older than 40 than younger and it is a small book with a very small font - CJ himself would've given up the ghost trying to squint through it. Increasing the font size would have added maybe 10 more pages at the most to a 94 page book? I think CJ deserved better than that.

[Peter Langston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick little new year read, it is a collection of James arguments of the other side of the debate about Phillip Larkin’s private life. An avowed fan, he argues strongly that the Larkin of later recovered letters to friends is not a fascist but undoubtedly a philanderer. The attraction of the work is, for once, not the writing of the author but the argument he brings to bear in defence of England’s greatest modern poet.

[Elizabeth Woodward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surely there is a mistake on the closing page....Larkin's letter to Clive James.
A note beneath the letter states 'there is a missing word in the second paragraph'
Where? When Larkin writes 'while the machine is still to me' is not missing a word such as 'next or beside'. Larkin is referencing Hamlet's letter to Ophelia read by Polonius. 'Whilst this machine is to him'.

[Roman Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larkin’s dark and grim style is often what is first thought of by the public and reading majority, but I think james makes a point to show that there is a whole lot more to Larkin than just that. In his own ways and methods Larkin is actually hopeful and a bit sentimental even, and to miss out on those aspects of his writing is to also miss out on a bigger much more general point of his work.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only the most devoted disciple of literary criticism could like this one. The spectre of Terry Eagleton's forensic scalpel hovers over it. Poetry and literature should be read and enjoyed NOT dissected.