I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when he's written it but a couple of weeks later. Then he should see if it pleases anyone else, by sending it to the kind of magazine he likes reading.


Required Writing: Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982 (ed. 2012)

Philip Larkin Quotes

I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when he's written it ...

I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when he's written it ...

I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when he's written it ...

I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when he's written it ...