Life, Love and The Archers by Wendy Cope – two roads

Wendy Cope is a contemporary English poet. Life, Love and The Archers is a journey through her childhood, her difficult relationship with her mother, her personal and professional life. The book starts with an introduction, explaining how this memoir got published. In 2011, she sold her archive to the British library. Then, her editor, with the writer’s permission, looked through the archive for publishable material.

The book is divided in eight different sections. The first one “I remember” gives the reader a chance to understand her family background. My favourite entry was the first short story called “I remember the first time I read a book by myself”. I also have a vivid memory of the teaching method my teacher was using back in my primary school.

The second part “Education, education” was interesting because she shares her experience of her first teaching job, observing students’ reaction when she was reading the opening pages of The Iron Man by Ted Hughes or how she used her musical skills in assembly or singing lessons.

The third part “A Nice, Polite Patient” is about her journey to learn to be herself. I was probably less interested by the topic of this section but the next one about her personal relationship begins with a great fairy tale called “Ladies do not Rescues Princes”.

Section five is all about her work as a poet. Brilliant and funny. More serious when she mentions copyright law.

Section six “Addictions, ageing and two cathedral cities” made me feel that Wendy Cope was less tormented as she was getting older, enjoying the lovely place where she still lives.

Then, “Head in a book” is section 7. If literature is one of your strong interests, then you’ll enjoy discovering her little job reviewing children’s picture books or a piece about her childhood reading and a few books reviews her editor thought worth reproducing.

I chose not to read the last section “Settee life”. It’s mainly about her television columns she wrote for the spectators between 1986 and 1990 and felt it was not too much of my cup of tea. This book is a portrait of one of England’s famous writers so now I realise I would need to read some of her poems to find out more about her work.