What skill do Philip Larkin and John O'Hara both possess?
Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist and librarian. His first book of poetry, "The North Ship", was published in 1945, followed by two novels, "Jill" (1946) and "A Girl in Winter" (1947), and he came to prominence in 1955 with the publication of his second collection of poems, "The Less Deceived", followed by "The Whitsun Weddings" (1964) and "High Windows" (1974). He contributed to "The Daily Telegraph" as its jazz critic from 1961 to 1971, articles gathered in "All What Jazz: A Record Diary 1961–71" (1985), and he edited "The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse" (1973). His many honours include the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. He was offered, but declined, the position of Poet Laureate in 1984, following the death of Sir John Betjeman.
Ian Burgham Ian Burgham (born 1950 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a poet. He is the son of Lt. Cmdr. Allen Russell Burgham, DSC,MiD,CD. and Jean Wallace. He has lived in New Zealand and Scotland, but currently resides in Canada. He spent his formative years in Kingston, Ontario and graduated from Queen's Universityin 1972. While at Queen's he studied poetry and poetic process with Professor George Whalley, poet, writer and well-known Coleridge scholar. In 1973, Burgham moved to New Zealand where he taught at Wellington College (New Zealand). In 1975 he moved to Scotland to attend Edinburgh University, taking an M. Litt. degree in Blake studies. His thesis, written under the supervision of Professor Michael Phillips, focussed on William Blake's theory of imagination and the origins of Blake's poetry and theories.