Wendy Cope Quotes

Write to amuse? What an appalling suggestion! I write to make people anxious and miserable and to worsen their indigestion.

Wendy Cope

Writing, People, Suggestions

46 Copy quote
At lunchtime I bought a huge orange The size of it made us all laugh. I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave— They got quarters and I had a half. And that orange it made me so happy, As ordinary things often do Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park This is peace and contentment. It's new. The rest of the day was quite easy. I did all my jobs on my list And enjoyed them and had some time over. I love you. I'm glad I exist.

Wendy Cope

Jobs, Love You, Shopping

Wendy Cope (2011). “Two Cures for Love: Selected Poems 1979-2006”, p.33, Faber & Faber

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When a poem doesn't work, the first question to ask yourself is, 'Am I telling the truth?'

Wendy Cope

Firsts, Telling The Truth, Asks

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Some socks are loners They can't live in pairs.

Wendy Cope

Loner, Pairs, Sock

2001 If I Don't Know,'The Sorrow of Socks'.

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I have a theory that if you've got the kind of parents who want to send you to boarding school, you're probably better off at boarding school.

Wendy Cope

School, Parent, Want

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My heart has made its mind up And I'm afraid it's you.

Wendy Cope

Heart, Mind, My Heart

1992 Serious Concerns,'Valentine'.

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I was single for a long time and felt very much alone in the world, and talk of family values upset me very much at that phase in my life, because I used to think: 'What about people like me?

Wendy Cope

Thinking, Long, People

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The interesting thing is that you don't often meet a poet who doesn't have a sense of humour, and some of them do keep it out of their poems because they're afraid of being seen as light versifiers.

Wendy Cope

Light, Interesting, Poet

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On Waterloo Bridge where we said our goodbyes, the weather conditions bring tears to my eyes. I wipe them away with a black woolly glove And try not to notice I've fallen in love On Waterloo Bridge I am trying to think: This is nothing. you're high on the charm and the drink. But the juke-box inside me is playing a song That says something different. And when was it wrong? On Waterloo Bridge with the wind in my hair I am tempted to skip. You're a fool. I don't care. the head does its best but the heart is the boss- I admit it before I am halfway across

Wendy Cope

Goodbye, Song, Heart

Wendy Cope (2011). “Two Cures for Love: Selected Poems 1979-2006”, p.34, Faber & Faber

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The reason modern poetry is difficult is so that the poet's wife cannot understand it.

Wendy Cope

Wife, Poetry, Reason

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Bloody Christmas, here again, let us raise a loving cup, peace on earth, goodwill to men, and make them do the washing up.

Wendy Cope

Christmas, Men, Earth

Wendy Cope (2017). “Christmas Poems”, p.35, Faber & Faber

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Possibly I've become less funny as I've been happier.

Wendy Cope

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I've said what I'm prepared to say in my poems, and then journalists think that you're going to tell them a whole lot more.

Wendy Cope

Thinking, Said, Journalist

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There are so many kinds of awful men One can't avoid them all. She often said She'd never make the same mistake again: She always made a new mistake instead.

Wendy Cope

Mistake, Men, Awful

1986 'Rondeau Redouble¤'.

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I think it's a question which particularly arises over women writers: whether it's better to have a happy life or a good supply of tragic plots.

Wendy Cope

Happy Life, Thinking, Plot

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Never trust a journalist.

Wendy Cope

Never Trust, Journalist

2001 If I Don't Know,'How to Deal with the Press'.

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In my case, the long gaps between my books have got quite a lot to do with lack of confidence. A lot of the time when I'm not writing I start thinking I can't do it.

Wendy Cope

Book, Writing, Thinking

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My heart has made its mind up And I’m afraid it’s you. Whatever you’ve got lined up, My heart has made its mind up And if you can’t be signed up This year, next year will do. My heart has made its mind up And I’m afraid it’s you.

Wendy Cope

Heart, Years, Mind

Wendy Cope (2011). “Two Cures for Love: Selected Poems 1979-2006”, p.25, Faber & Faber

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I used to think all poets were Byronic Mad, bad and dangerous to know. And then I met a few. See Lamb 486:25.

Wendy Cope

Thinking, Mad, Lambs

1986 'Triolet'. 0 See Lamb 486:25.

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Bloody men are like bloody buses - you wait for about a year and as soon as one approaches your stop two or three others appear.

Wendy Cope

Men, Years, Two

"Bloody Men" l. 1 (1992)

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I always tell students that writing a poem and publishing it are two quite separate things, and you should write what you have to write, and if you're afraid it's going to upset someone, don't publish it.

Wendy Cope

Writing, Two, Upset

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I've never been more famous than I was, suddenly, in 1986.

Wendy Cope

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I like buying clothes, especially as I get a tax-deductible allowance.

Wendy Cope

Clothes, Buying, Allowance

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Born: July 21, 1945
Occupation: Poet
Cite this Page: Citation

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