Richard Palmer is Director of General Education at Bedford School, where for twenty years he was Head of English. A regular contributor to Jazz Journal International, he has published widely in the fields of literature, education and jazz.

• Introduction; Part I: My Proper Ground: Larkin the Jazz Critic; 1 Oh, Play That Thing; 2 Something Snapped Off Short; 3 Glorious Folly: All What Jazz; 4 One Side Will Have To Go; Part II: Hidden Freshness: Larkin the Mature Poet; 5 Introduction; 6 Departures and Arrivals; 7 The Toad Work; 8 Deepening Like A Coastal Shelf; Part III: Counterfeit and Defeat: Larkin's Early Work Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

"Richard Palmer has written a highly intelligent, sharp and challenging book. 'Larkin Studies' (as Larkin ruefully called them as early as 1981) are likely to be changed by Palmer's alert ventures into this contentious area." Anthony Thwaite, Poet and Co-Executor of the Larkin Estate"

Richard Palmer is Director of General Education at Bedford School, where for twenty years he was Head of English. A regular contributor to Jazz Journal International, he has published widely in the fields of literature, education and jazz.

• Introduction; Part I: My Proper Ground: Larkin the Jazz Critic; 1 Oh, Play That Thing; 2 Something Snapped Off Short; 3 Glorious Folly: All What Jazz; 4 One Side Will Have To Go; Part II: Hidden Freshness: Larkin the Mature Poet; 5 Introduction; 6 Departures and Arrivals; 7 The Toad Work; 8 Deepening Like A Coastal Shelf; Part III: Counterfeit and Defeat: Larkin's Early Work Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

"Richard Palmer has written a highly intelligent, sharp and challenging book. 'Larkin Studies' (as Larkin ruefully called them as early as 1981) are likely to be changed by Palmer's alert ventures into this contentious area." Anthony Thwaite, Poet and Co-Executor of the Larkin Estate"

Richard Palmer is Director of General Education at Bedford School, where for twenty years he was Head of English. A regular contributor to Jazz Journal International, he has published widely in the fields of literature, education and jazz.

• Introduction; Part I: My Proper Ground: Larkin the Jazz Critic; 1 Oh, Play That Thing; 2 Something Snapped Off Short; 3 Glorious Folly: All What Jazz; 4 One Side Will Have To Go; Part II: Hidden Freshness: Larkin the Mature Poet; 5 Introduction; 6 Departures and Arrivals; 7 The Toad Work; 8 Deepening Like A Coastal Shelf; Part III: Counterfeit and Defeat: Larkin's Early Work Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

"Richard Palmer has written a highly intelligent, sharp and challenging book. 'Larkin Studies' (as Larkin ruefully called them as early as 1981) are likely to be changed by Palmer's alert ventures into this contentious area." Anthony Thwaite, Poet and Co-Executor of the Larkin Estate"