How to Learn and What to Learn: Two Letters Advocating the System of Examination Established by the Society of Arts

by James Booth

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

208 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2010

About the author

James Booth has written extensively on Philip Larkin. Booth has recently retired from the Department of English at the University of Hull, where he had been Larkin's colleague for seventeen years.

The distinction between Booth's and Andrew Motion's biographies is, in Booth's own words:

"His (Motion's) biography is a magnificent achievement, but he is not on Larkin's wavelength when it comes to humour".

However, despite praising Motion's achievement in this regard, Booth adds that:

"I think Motion took Larkin too much at his own word. When Larkin said he was a sour brute who didn't treat his mother well, he believed him. In fact, Larkin wrote two letters to his mother every week for 40-odd years."

Booth's writing is defined by his admiration for one of Britain's most beloved poets of the twentieth-century:

"I have always loved his poetry and love is the right word"