Philip Larkin & Fountain Pens

[sandy101]

I'm reading Philip Larkin's letters. Whilst he drafted his poems in 2B Royal Sovereign pencils, he used a Fountain pen to write some of his letters.

 

In his letter dated 17 April 1941 he writes, "The writing of this will be awful because I'm being forced to write on the back of an awful nib." On 16 April he calls it a vile pen (no mention of the brand).

 

Considering, he's just survived another round of bombing (Coventry was very badly hit through-out the blitz) the letter reads as rather matter of fact and has some understatement.

 

That said, Larkin was an entertaining letter writer and it contrasts sharply with how people come to view him through his poetry. yes, the themes are in the letter, but there's also a love of jazz and playing with language.

[cleosmama]

Thank you for the mention of Larkin and his letters. I like his poems very much, and I'll have to take a look at his letters. I know there was some question of publishing them because of the contents of some of them, I think. Or perhaps it was because he would not have wanted them published (?). It would be interesting to hear speculations on what sort of pen he might have used at that time.

[sandy101]

There are two books of letters - The Selected Letters (which I've only started) and Letters to Monica (which are letters he wrote to one of his loves - Monica Jones).

 

I think the problem people have had with the letters is that they reveal more of Larkin, the man, rather than Larkin the poet.

 

The letters reveal Larkin to be quite right wing in his political views and capable of a liberal use of foul language and dirty jokes. There is a problem with the context as one is never quite sure whether to read some of the comments as a "joke between friends" or as a sincerely held belief. Certainly Larkin seems to poke fun at a lot of things and uses exaggeration a lot, so you're not quite sure how to read it, and since I'm reading for pleasure, I don't really have to make that decision.

 

Letters to Monica is a good place to start - it is a weighty volume, so an e-book may be preferable. I found a copy in my local library.

[Ted Nashe]

In a letter to Judy Egerton, dated 13th Jan, 1985, Larkin wrote that his current choice of pen was a Parker 61. He'd recently obtained a new one because his old one had developed a leak. 

 

I wonder if anyone is still using it.

[inkstainedruth]

Well, as long as the barrel hasn't cracked (sadly, a serious problem with the plastic used for 61s) and it's one of the capillary fillers?  It could very easily still be in use.  

I've picked up several 61s over the years, after seeing a magazine ad that someone posted on FPN in another thread, and the only ones I have that *haven't* developed cracks are the black one I picked up at an estate sale company's showroom sale late last summer -- I'm still working my way through rehydrating the (unknown) ink in it -- and the 61 Flighter (which has a metal body).  Sadly, Parker used the same grade of plastic for the 61 line as they did for the Parker 21s (the student grade/budget version of a Parker 51 -- whereas the 51s, their flagship line for something like 20 years, were made out of Lucite).  Because the capillary fill system is superb -- just unscrew the barrel and stick the back end of the filler into a bottle of ink for a few minutes and let the teflon sponge in it soak up the ink....  

I'm constantly bemused by the fact that the 61 seemed to be Parker's answer to the influx of ballpoints on the market -- yet Sheaffer's answer was the Sheaffer Snorkel (seriously wicked cool but also -- at the same time -- the most CONVOLUTED fill system on the planet...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ted Nashe]

Thanks for that, Ruth.👍 I don't own a 61 and wasn't aware of the 'cracking' problem with the plastic Parker used for them. I thought their main drawback was that the indicator arrow on the section tended to become detached over time. I'll keep away from them now, I think – but I'd still like to own Larkin's.🙃

 

Best wishes 💐

[inkstainedruth]

Yeah, I have a couple that are missing the section arrow.  Including the black one that HASN'T cracked.  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Christopher Godfrey]

<...the problem people have had with the letters is that they reveal more of Larkin, the man, rather than Larkin the poet>

 

Yes, Sandy: so right.  A complex man and his reputation -- for me -- is somewhat undermined by what else we now know about him.  I still love his poems...

 

MCMXIV

 

Those long uneven lines

Standing as patiently

As if they were stretched outside

The Oval or Villa Park...

...

Never such innocence again.

[Ceilidh]

Not pen related, but the book I'm reading currently is dedicated to Philip Larkin, who was the inspiration for the title character. Based on the character so far, I'm a bit surprised that Larkin was flattered by that, but apparently he was. 

 

Regarding 61s, one of my cherished pens is the Parker 61 jet flighter that belonged to my father, with which he wrote letters to me when I was away, first at summer camp and later at university. (The metal ones were known as jet flighters and coincidentally, or perhaps not 🙃, my dad flew jet fighters.

[inkstainedruth]

You have a family heirloom pen?  I'm jealous!

Plus, I didn't know that metal pens were called "jet fighters" (or is that only for 61s?) -- I'd only seen metal body pens (especially steel or aluminum ones) described as "flighters".  
This is why I love this site!  I learn the most amazing things -- and clearly NOT just from long time denizens of the site at that.  Thanks!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ceilidh]

Only the 61s - still a flighter, just modified with "jet." I assume that was because the pen was introduced near the beginning of the jet age.

 

Yes, I have my dad's pen, as well as my mom's Esterbrook, which is engraved with her maiden name. Also, 51 flighter pen and pencil sets that belonged to my grandfathers. My dad's family had a friend who was a Parker exec, and when my parents were married, he gave my dad 8 sets to present to his groomsmen and both fathers. They're engraved to each recipient from my dad with the wedding date. (At pen shows I look at the 51 flighters in the very faint hope of one day turning up one of the other six.)

[inkstainedruth]

What a cool story!  Thanks for posting it!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth