I'm terrified of the thought of time passing (or whatever is meant by that phrase) whether I 'do' anything or not. In a way I may believe, deep down, that doing nothing acts as a brake on 'time's - it doesn't of course. It merely adds the torment of having done nothing, when the time comes when it really doesn't matter if you've done anything or not.More Philip Larkin quotes [03/29/2018 05:03:36]

I am beginning to think of the human imagination as a fruit machine on which victories are rare and separated by much vain expense, and represent a rare alignment of mental and spiritual qualities that normally are quite at odds.More Philip Larkin quotes [03/29/2018 05:03:36]

One of the great criticisms of poets of the past is that they said one thing and did another.More Philip Larkin quotes [03/29/2018 05:03:36]

It is fatal to decide, intellectually, what good poetry is because you are then in honour bound to try to write it, instead of the poems that only you can write.More Philip Larkin quotes [03/29/2018 05:03:36]

When I get sent manuscripts from aspiring poets, I do one of two things: if there is no stamped self-addressed envelope, I throw it into the bin.-If there is, I write and tell them to f**k off.More Philip Larkin quotes [03/29/2018 05:03:36]