I went to see Wendy Cope at a poetry reading. I thought that she was surprisingly tetchy for someone who writes a lot of funny verse but maybe it was just the weather. There’s a joke to be made there somewhere – talk among yourselves and get back to me.
She was reading with Dennis O’Driscoll who was a lovely man and rather cowed by her, I thought. Though perhaps he did provoke her slightly.
In discussion afterwards, Dennis O’Driscoll said that Ireland was a great place to be a poet and Wendy Cope said that in England, nobody could name three contemporary poets. Both of these comments seem a bit unlikely to me but reader, tell me, can you name 3 contemporary poets? Googling will disqualify. Answering will restore my faith in humanity. No pressure now.