In Celebration of Betty Mackereth

Tiny In All That Air

Betty Mackereth was Philip Larkin’s secretary at the library at the University of Hull. They were work colleagues and good friends, growing closer and more intimate, as the years went on. Betty turns 100 on 27th June 2024.

We begin with Betty herself in conversation with James Booth when James was beginning his research into his biography of Philip Larkin . James calls her, Larkin’s ‘ageing muse of vitality’.

After this, we hear directly from James Booth who spoke Lyn and trustee Philip Pullen at James’s house earlier this year.

Thank you and special birthday wishes to Betty and thank you to Magnus Mackereth, Betty’s nephew, for giving us his blessing. Thanks again to James Booth and Philip Pullen and Simon Galloway for support with sound production.

Mary Judd -- See "'What fun we had in the early sixties!' Philip Larkin and Mary Wrench (Judd)" by James Booth, in About Larkin 45 (April 2018). Having appreciated The Less Deceived, Mary (b.1923) applied for a post as Assistant Librarian in Hull in 1956, wanting to see "what a poet is like". Larkin interviewed her himself, and flattered (and also intimidated) by her familiarity with his poetry, saw her off from Hull on the coach with the words "I hope you'll come". She fitted into the Library well, befriending Maeve Brennan and Betty Mackereth, took part in the momentous move of the library into its new building in 1959, and stayed until 1964. She married Stephen Judd and Larkin visited her in the hospital where she gave birth to her first daughter, Helen in 1962. Larkin became a conscientious long-distance godfather to Helen, and kept in touch with Mary, sending her cards and the occasional letter.

Suzanne Uniacke. (There is a village in County Cork called Uniacke. The Uniackes came over with the Conqueror. It's a rare name!) Suzanne was a Reader in the Philosophy Department in Hull from 2006 to 2013.

Pauline Dennison was a library colleague of Maeve Bennan. She cut a formidable figure in charge of the Issue Desk in the Brynmor Jones for many years.

Brenda Moon https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/mar/31/brenda-moon-obituary

Don Lee Don was a trustee of the PLS for many years, and developed many Larkin walks in sites across the country that are still used today.

Ivor Maw Philip Pullen- My Friend Ivor Maw (About Larkin 42) https://philiplarkin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/About-Larkin-42.pdf

Poems mentioned:

Love Again, The Dance, I Am Jake Balakowsky, Morning at last there in the snow, When First We Faced, We Met at the end of the party, Aubade, Symphony in White Major, Oxford, Broadcast, Toads Revisited, The Large Cool Store

The Philip Larkin I Knew- Maeve Brennan (Manchester University Press, 2002)

Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love by James Booth (Bloomsbury, 2015)

Letters Home by Philip Larkin ed. James Booth (Faber, 2018)

The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkin’s Photographs by Richard Bradford (Francis Lincoln, 2015)

Philip Larkin Collected Poems ed. Anthony Thwaite (Faber, 1988)

The Complete Poems of Philip Larkin ed. Archie Burnett (Faber, 2012)

Philip Larkin: A Writer’s Life by Andrew Motion (Faber, 1994)

https://philiplarkin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/About-Larkin-35.pdf Early Days in Philip Larkin’s Library Betty Mackereth

https://philiplarkin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/About-Larkin-25.pdf 'New Brooms' Philip Larkin Betty Mackereth

Philip Larkin and the Third Woman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRibIbHPAws

‘Former poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion discovers an unseen and unpublished poem by Philip Larkin when he returns to Hull to meet one of the poet's former lovers. Speaking for the first time about her relationship with Larkin, Betty Mackereth reveals the man behind the famous poems.’

Cast: Andrew Motion

First episode date: 7 December 2010

Robbins report https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_Report

Music:

Laura - Sidney Bechet

Petit Fleur- Monty Sunshine

Reckless Blues- Bessie Smith