Matthew,
I think you're right, and your student has been reading a bit too
hurriedly. The Motion biography, pp49-50, says: "...it's still possible
to see the lasting impression that the Coventry raids made on him
[Larkin]; ... the blasts around Manor Road echo underground in 'The
Explosion'."
Motion clearly doesn't mean that The Explosion is about an air-raid, but
that Larkin's experience of living through them enabled him to write
more vividly about the underground explosion.
Regards,
--
Peter
http://www.hphoward.demon.co.uk/poetry/
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