Wendy Cope recites her own and other poets' work

Wendy Cope recites her own and other poets' work

07 Apr 2011

Speakers: Wendy Cope

Wendy Cope is known primarily for her frank, honest, and often witty explorations of the banality of English life. She starts by reading a number of her own poems, covering topics from boarding school life to funerals and love affairs. Perhaps the most memorable is her recital of The Widow (from the collection The Audience), a poignant account of a widow’s loneliness when contemplating that her lost husband will ‘never hear another note.’ Cope finishes her series with the amusing Another Unfortunate Choice, referring to her admiration for Housman and then introducing several of his poems. She finishes on a ‘favourite’: Loveliest of trees, the cherry now from A Shropshire Lad.