The Orange and Other Poems (2024)

only bad thing about this is that it‘s only 35 pages

checking in to see if i like poetry yet

beautiful, poignant and touching - the perfect depiction of what it is to be loved, and what it means to love

i’ve read wendy cope’s poetry collection ‘serious concerns’ (where i first discovered her most well-known poem ‘the orange’ and fell in love with it), but there were some poems in here i hadn’t read before which were great. this edition is also just the cutest ever.

just so so so lovely. I had plans to read a poem from this once a day but I ended up reading it cover to cover while wrapped up in bed with a cup of tea (10/10 would recommend). I usually put a book on my shelf once I'm finished but I've kept this beside my bed and have already picked it up again a few times since

I love you. I’m glad I exist

The cover art is forever a 5 star for me.

8th book of 2024.

A cute new collection of Cope poems. I know "The Orange" by heart, anyway. It's one of those poems that did nothing for me for a long time until I then read it at a certain point in time and it just clicked for me. Now it always reminds me of that door opening and revealing solace. After all, it's about finding beauty and peace in the small things.

The Orange
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 the jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.

The rest, as ever with Cope: sweet, sad and sometimes poignant. Some really tiny ones in here like,

Two Cures for Love

1. Don't see him. Don't phone or write a letter.
2. The easy way: get to know him better.

I like that in the universe of Cope's poetry, things are simple, they work out, and only need a bit of tending to, like a garden.

The cover is so beautiful!!! And oh I love The Orange. But I did not really care for the rest of the poems in this short collection.

i feel personally victimized by these poems

i love "the orange" very much.
but i sadly didn't love the rest

4 stars for the orange only! i love you, i’m glad i exist🍊:)

Bought for The Orange; read the rest in one sitting because they make everything just a little bit more bearable. The epitome of “I want to live a vibrant life but I want to die a boring death.” Felt like I was watching Dinnerladies for the first time. Am now going to watch Dinnerladies for the 57th time.

it's about love and everything else, but mostly about love

this is going to be as equally short as the collection was. unfortunately i'm in the minority.

my attraction to this collection was simply to the name and the famous poem, "the orange", a soft poem grateful for the love they find in having different relationships. for sure, most of the poems in the collection also focus on the existential gratefulness between friends and other loved ones. and it's most definitely good prose, do not get wrong - i liked "dutch portrait". but i was not impressed beyond that. i felt that some poems did not belong in the short collection. it didn't... reach me. and overall, i felt very indifferent. i was just reading it. i assume it must be consumed when in the mood of feel gratefulness for life.

perhaps i will come back to it someday but currently that's all i have to say.

This book was a gift from my friend. Read it to my mother. Her enjoyment of it amplified my enjoyment which bumped the rating from a four to a five. Her favorites were Leaving and Loss.

Lovely

“I love you. I’m glad I exist” -the orange

I seriously need to get this tattooed on my body…

Great start of the year :)

Can’t believe I am turning into a poetry person

Is this a bit of a money grab? Yes — do I love Wendy Cope regardless? Also yes.

In all honesty, there wasn’t a lot of new stuff I hadn’t already read in the collections of hers I’ve read (except He Tells Her, which I loved and don’t think I’ve ever read before)

But if you’ve never read The Orange by Wendy Cope (the poem), you should.

i don’t normally like rhyming poetry but i loved “a vow”

As short as it is good.

“My heart has made its mind up
And I’m afraid it’s you.”

Bee bought me this book for Secret Santa (the only person I trust to perceive me) and I -sobbed- in the pub.

Cried two more times reading it (and the little notes they left me) and will continue to do so.

"I love you. I'm glad I exist."

My first time properly reading modern poetry and I wish i read it sooner. Such a beautiful collection of poems, both funny and touching, about the experiences of love and loss. Something to reflect upon

Is je poëzie bundel in Goodreads tracken valsspelen? Misschien. Ga ik het toch doen? Jazeker :)

Echt lang geleden dat ik gedichtjes heb gelezen, geen idee waarom want ik vond het heerlijk!!! Genoten

It made me smile and hug you then.
Now I can only smile.
But, look, the flowers you nearly brought
Have lasted all this while.

hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you… and i will hold on to you. happy 2024

Deliciously simple in a way that renders it complex. Rich, beautiful and sweet. Of course 'the Orange' is my absolute favourite in the collection.

This is such a lovely little collection. Some poems silly, some touching, some funny, and some all of the above. I only knew The Orange, which is the reason I picked up this collection, but I loved almost everything else as well.

This was my first time reading Wendy Cope’s poetry and I was really surprised by how playful it was and how much she has fun with form and verse. The poems are often very tongue in cheek and wryly observant but then there’s the odd line or poem which just punches you in the gut. I get why people love her!