New Larkin poem to his lover surfaces in TV documentary

The poem, Dear Jake, was written to Larkin's secretary of 28 years, Betty Mackereth, who was recently revealed as his lover.

Larkin's best known female relationships were with Monica Jones and Maeve Brennan, who are both buried close to him in Cottingham Cemetery near Hull.

The makers of a TV documentary exploring his relationship with his secretary discovered the poem as part of their research in a lost notebook that was overlooked when Larkin's house was cleared.

Dear Jake, one of several poems Larkin sent Ms Mackreth in 1976, will be seen and read for the first time at 6pm tomorrow when the half-hour programme, Philip Larkin and the Third Woman, is screened on BBC One.

It will be broadcast nationally on BBC Four on Tuesday at 8pm.

The screenings come just after the 25th anniversary of Larkin's death, which was marked in his adopted city of Hull on Thursday with the unveiling of a 7ft statue in Paragon Station.

The arts commissioning editor for the BBC, Mark Bell, said: "I am really proud that the 25th anniversary of Larkin's death will be marked, as part of the BBC's commitment to literature, by BBC Yorkshire's Larkin film.

"Broadcasting original arts programmes in this way, uncovering important works from a national literary treasure, is absolutely what the BBC is here to do."

The discovery of Dear Jake, which had previously only been seen by its author and recipient, has delighted Larkin aficionados. Former poet laureate and Larkin biographer Sir Andrew Motion said: "This poem is a complete revelation to me, I didn't know it existed. I had no knowledge of it at all.

"It's completely new, so that's rather amazing and wonderful."

Larkin expert Prof James Booth from Hull University, who is also editor of About Larkin, the journal of the Larkin Society, discusses the significance of the poem in the programme.

He says: "What we have here is another poem in the sequence of poems written to Betty, where she appears to him, in my view, as a muse of vitality and longevity, with a genuine emotional kick. This is quite a find."

Ms Mackereth told Larkin she would never reveal herself or her story to the world, but breaks her silence to speak publicly for the first time about her relationship and the man she knew probably better than anyone else.

The statue of Larkin was created by sculptor Martin Jennings and donated to Hull by the Larkin Society.