The Whitsun Weddings
First edition | |
| Author | Philip Larkin |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
Published in English | 1964 |
| ISBN | 9780571097104 |
| Preceded by | The Less Deceived |
| Followed by | High Windows |
The Whitsun Weddings is a collection of 32 poems by Philip Larkin.[1][2] It was first published by Faber in the United Kingdom on 28 February 1964.[2] It was a commercial success, by the standards of poetry publication, selling 4,000 copies on its first run.[3] A United States edition appeared some seven months later. In Larkin's lifetime, he would sell 100,000 paperback copies.[4]
It contains many of Larkin's best known poems,[2] such as "The Whitsun Weddings", "Days",[5] "Mr Bleaney", "MCMXIV",[5] and "An Arundel Tomb".[5]
Poems
- Here
- Mr Bleaney
- Nothing To Be Said
- Love Songs in Age
- Naturally the Foundation will Bear Your Expenses
- Broadcast
- Faith Healing
- For Sidney Bechet[5]
- Home is so Sad
- Toads Revisited
- Water
- The Whitsun Weddings[1]
- Self's the Man
- Take One Home for the Kiddies
- Days[5]
- MCMXIV[5]
- Talking in Bed
- The Large Cool Store
- A Study of Reading Habits
- As Bad as a Mile
- Ambulances
- The Importance of Elsewhere
- Sunny Prestatyn
- First Sight
- Dockery and Son[5]
- Ignorance
- Reference Back
- Wild Oats
- Essential Beauty
- Send No Money
- Afternoons
- An Arundel Tomb[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Jamie, Doward (10 May 2014). "Larkin's Whitsun Weddings celebrated with 50th-anniversary train ride". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ a b c "Faber Book Club 8: The Whitsun Weddings by Philip Larkin". Faber & Faber. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
The Whitsun Weddings was Philip Larkin's third collection of poems, the first to be published by Faber. It came out on 28 February 1964...containing as it does some of Larkin's most well-known and quoted poems.
- ^ Hourican, Bridget (October 2009). "Monteith, Charles Montgomery". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Royal Irish Academy. doi:10.3318/dib.005891.v1.
...he corresponded with the virtually unknown Larkin for a decade (1953–63) until he was released from his contract with Marvell Press, leaving Faber free to publish The Whitsun weddings (1963), which sold 4,000 copies on its first run.
- ^ Nash, Andrew; Potter, Jane (8 June 2019). "8 - Literature". In Nash, Andrew; Squires, Claire; Willison, I. R. (eds.). The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9780511862489.009.
Nevertheless, The Whitsun weddings would sell over 100,000 paperback copies in Larkin's lifetime.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "From the Archive: The Whitsun Weddings First Edition". Faber & Faber. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2025.