A Life’s Work
Telling truths, TS Eliot and taking over TikTok; Wendy Cope reflects on a life in poetry
Portrait Lydia Evans
I’ve written a handful of poems in the last six months, but aside from that I have not done much writing recently.
My collected poems will be released next September, which includes several published poems but also plenty which haven’t been included in any of my books. I haven’t felt much of an inclination to write, but that hasn’t worried me.
I’ve lost the enthusiasm for writing and that’s OK – I’m 78 so I think it’s alright to retire. Now, I feel my work is complete.
My poems normally begin with an idea or a few words which might form a line; I write them down then come back to them later.
I mostly write in my study at home in Ely, but when I’m away, I have found being alone in hotel rooms to be quite fruitful.
Trains are too bumpy to write on, though I’ll often make up short poems in my head then write them down later. Being alone or spending time doing nothing in particular helps with my writing.
I need some kind of movement if I’m stuck, even if it’s doing a bit of washing up. I still read a lot of poetry – Larkin, Housman and Fleur Adcock are a few of my favourites. Reading poetry in small doses is a great habit to get into – it enriches your life.
Telling the truth has always been my priority.
If I’m struggling to write, I will always ask myself: ‘What is the truth of the matter?’ TS Eliot was very good on that – he believed the principal difficulty for a poet is working out the difference between what you think you ought to feel and what you really feel.
Truth to feeling is extremely important to me, and then it’s all about finding the words to describe something as accurately as possible. Words are the starting point, then it’s about finding form.
Shakespearean sonnets are my favourite, but I also like to experiment with haiku and villanelles alongside others.
When I was first published, I encountered hostility from the poetry world.
I have always had a warm and affectionate readership, but that’s entirely separate from the world of poetry.
There has always been ill feeling there, and I think that’s because I just suddenly appeared and my first book got massive publicity.
This was hard for other poets, and there is always this idea in the arts that if something is popular, then it can’t be any good. I’d like people to make the distinction that some things can be both.
Recently, a few young people I knew told me I was big on TikTok, and I had no idea what that was since I don’t do social media!
My publishers caught wind of it and had the idea of putting together a small book with some of these popular poems, and others which I thought this younger generation might like (The Orange and other poems, published by Faber & Faber).
None of my friends had even heard of it – it’s all been entirely online or word of mouth. I had just come out of spinal surgery and was recovering in an extremely expensive nursing home at the time.
When I checked on Amazon and saw how well The Orange and other poems was selling, I felt some relief that my next royalty cheque would probably be alright!
Wendy Cope will be doing a poetry reading at Stapleford Granary on 19 May at 3pm.
Book your tickets at staplefordgranary.org.uk
