SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALCOTT PRIZE

Her poetry remains unrivaled in its popularity and technical mastery – there is no better contemporary writer of forms like the triolet – and in the wit, insight, and seriousness of purpose with which she shows us what it means to be human. - Guardian

This volume includes the complete poetic works of one of our most witty and beloved writers, featuring many previously unpublished poems. When Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis was published in 1986, Wendy Cope became one of the rarest of creators: a celebrated poet who also achieved bestseller status. Her skillful blend of insight and humor made a remarkable impact in poems that gently mock the pomposity of a literary world traditionally dominated by men.

Through four additional collections, Cope has continued to delight her readers and has gained an entirely new generation of fans when her poem 'The Orange' went viral. These poems capture the desires and fears underlying our everyday lives – love and heartbreak, disappointment and a hard-fought ability to find happiness, even if only through a poem. By paying profound attention to and encapsulating the ordinary, these poems help to make our own lives more remarkable and memorable.

Collected Poems celebrates a lifetime of achievement by a poet who has been original and distinctive from the very beginning and offers the perfect companion to the trials, tribulations, and joys of our human existence. This collection also features Nick Garland's original illustrations for The River Girl (1991).

'Her poetry remains unrivaled in its popularity and technical mastery – there is no better contemporary writer of forms like the triolet – and in the wit, insight, and seriousness of purpose with which she shows us what it means to be human.' - Rishi Dastidar, Guardian

'We can love Wendy Cope's words... for the rhymes they reveal but also for the sad truths they express.' - Adam Gopnik, New Yorker

'You have to go back to Byron to find a poet as consistently witty, diverse, and technically outstanding as Cope.' - Los Angeles Review of Books

'There is no reason to wonder at Wendy Cope's enduring popularity. She writes poems that people want to read, and this is how poetry survives.' - Literary Review

'Wit and heart? Cope's fans can rest assured that there are enough treasures here with both.' - Telegraph

'Wendy Cope's true strength is not just charm or insight (she has plenty of both) but the precise accuracy of her writing.' - Sunday Times

'Her poems are touching, memorable, humorous, clever; they remind readers what it means to be human.' - PN Review

'Any collection of [Cope's] work is a national treasure chest... her work has, with care and precision, provided us with ways to navigate the world... Her Collected Poems are as human as an embrace.' - Ian McMillan, BBC Radio 4's The Verb

Pages: 512, Dimensions: 15.6x15.6cm