Leading author Martin Amis is to investigate the legacy of one of English literature's most controversial figures in front of a Manchester audience this week (October 2). Amis, who begins his second year as Professor of Creative Writing at The University of Manchester, will discuss Philip Larkin with critic and former Oxford Professor of Poetry James Fenton and Irish poet John McAuliffe.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Leading author Martin Amis is to investigate the legacy of one of English literature's most controversial figures in front of a Manchester audience this week ( October 2 ). Amis, who begins his second year as Professor of Creative Writing at The University of Manchester, will discuss Philip Larkin with critic and former Oxford Professor of Poetry James Fenton and Irish poet John McAuliffe.
Amis knew Larkin from an early age and has frequently written about his work.
The poet and novelist named by the Times as the greatest post-war English writer, was chosen as the nation's best-loved poet in a 2003 survey by the Poetry Book Society.
The panel will undertake a frank analysis of his continuing influence and the controversy raised by the publication of his letters and biography.
Organisers expect a lively and stimulating evening concluding with a Q and A session, which will allow members of the public and students to put questions to the panel.
John McAuliffe co-directs the University's Centre for New Writing, which is organising the event.
He said: "In his lifetime, Philip Larkin was often presented as the most typical and English of poets.
“But this reputation has been complicated by the subsequent publication of his letters, biography and previously unpublished poems and novels.
“His strangeness and extremity as a writer, what James Fenton has called his `singularity', are increasingly clear, even in his most traditional, lyrical poems, and it is this singularity as much as his popularity and success which will be debated.
“What the panellists say should raise important questions about the status of poetry, and English-language literature now.”
Martin Amis hosts four public events each year at the Centre for New Writing. These complement its regular 'Literature Live' readings, which showcase the best established and emerging novelists and poets.
Notes for editors `Martin Amis on Philip Larkin' will take place at 6.30pm on Thursday 2 October in the Whitworth Hall, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL.
Tickets cost £5 ( £3 concessions ) and are available from the University's box office on 0161 275 8951 or boxoffice@manchester.ac.uk, or via www.quaytickets.com.
The Centre for New Writing at The University of Manchester is home to a range of programmes in creative writing and contemporary literature, from undergraduate to PhD level.
It hosts the major public reading series Literature Live, Martin Amis Public Events and a new online journal The Manchester Review.
Its distinguished teaching staff includes novelists Martin Amis, M.J. Hyland, Geoff Ryman and Ian McGuire, and poets John McAuliffe and Vona Groarke.
For media enquiries contact: Mike Addelman Media Relations Faculty of Humanities The University of Manchester 0161 275 0790 07717 81567 michael.addelman@manchester.ac.uk
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