A Study Of Reading Habits – A poem by Philip Larkin. About the poet – Philip Arthur Larkin (1922 – 1985) is regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century. He was born in Warwickshire in England. Humorous observation of human foibles and failings was a peculiar feature of his style of writing. Larkin was chosen in a 2003 Poetry Book Society survey, almost two decades after his death, as Britain's best-loved poet of the previous 50 years, and in 2008 The Times named him Britain's greatest post-war writer.