 She attended Mountbatten School, a large comprehensive in Romsey, and Peter Symonds Sixth Form College.She went on to study Latin at Durham University.Copus' books of poetry include "The Shuttered Eye" (Bloodaxe, 1995), which won her an Eric Gregory Award and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the pamphlet "Walking in the Shadows" (1994), which won the Poetry Business competition, "In Defence of Adultery" (Bloodaxe, 2003), "The World's Two Smallest Humans" (Faber, 2012), shortlisted for both the Costa Book Awards (poetry category) and the T.S.