Bob Cobbing
Encyclopedia
Bob Cobbing was a British
sound
, visual
, concrete
and performance
poet
who was a central figure in the British Poetry Revival
.
and grew up within the Plymouth Brethren
. He attended Enfield Grammar School
and then trained as an accountant. He later went to Bognor Training College to become a teacher. During the Second World War, he was a conscientious objector
.
-based magazine And in 1951. This led to his setting up Writers Forum
, which began publishing in 1963. In 1964 he published ABC In Sound, a book that combined his interest in sound and concrete poetry in an exploration of the visual and auditory possibilities of the English alphabet
.
on Charing Cross Road
, London
. Better Books was more than a mere bookshop. Once described as a ‘mini Arts Lab
’ it served as stage, cinema and gallery. Its cross-disciplinary approach welcomed new art forms like assemblage, performance art, and radical poetry. Together with other alternative galleries such as 26 Kingly Street and Indica Bookshop, Better Books was one of the hot spots of the London underground
scene.
This shop was the venue for a number of events and happenings associated with what Cobbing's friend Jeff Nuttall
termed the Bomb Culture, the British version of the 1960s counterculture
. As an evolution of the earlier Hendon Film Society he began avant-garde film screenings under the title Cinema 65 which led to the formation of the London Film-Makers' Co-op
to produce Writers Forum books. In all, the press published over 1,000 titles between 1963 and 2002. As well as fostering the younger poets of the British Poetry Revival
, Writers Forum also published works by John Cage
, Allen Ginsberg
and Ian Hamilton Finlay
. Writers Forum also ran a regular Saturday afternoon writers' workshop at which poets read and discussed each other's work.
In the early 1970s the Poetry Society did not have any printing facilities. Cobbing had his own equipment elsewhere throughout the 40 years of his (largely solo) operation of Writers Forum. In the mid-1970s, against tremendous opposition of the rump of the old guard on the Poetry Society General Council, Cobbing and others opened a public print shop on the society's premises. Cobbing brought in his own equipment and allowed it to be used by anyone wishing to print their own book of poetry. Later the society provided a desktop litho, plate-maker and golfball typewriter with a diversion of the funds allocated to Poetry Review which was henceforth, for some years, printed in house.
Cobbing also explored his interest in performance works for multiple voices and musical instruments in groups like Bird Yak and Konkrete Canticle, which included poets Paula Claire and Bill Griffiths
and musician Michael Chant
. He was also co-founder of the Association of Little Presses
, an organisation that promoted the work of small publishers in Britain and Ireland.
and Derek Shiel
at The Klinker, Islington, London.
He also used his teacher training to work on performances with schoolchildren. Much of his later work consists of visual texts, artist's books and markings that were used as notations or, more strictly speaking, jumping off points for performance. He also worked on more directly collaborative works with other poets, such as the Domestic Ambient Noise project, a series of 300 booklets created with his friend and fellow Writers Forum editor Lawrence Upton
. Since Cobbing's death, Upton has carried on the work of running Writers Forum.
British literature
British Literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. By far the largest part of British literature is written in the English language, but there are bodies of written works in Latin, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Manx, Jèrriais,...
sound
Sound poetry
Sound poetry is an artistic form bridging between literary and musical composition, in which the phonetic aspects of human speech are foregrounded instead of more conventional semantic and syntactic values; "verse without words"...
, visual
Visual poetry
Visual poetry is poetry or art in which the visual arrangement of text, images and symbols is important in conveying the intended effect of the work. It is sometimes referred to as concrete poetry, a term that predates visual poetry, and at one time was synonymous with it.Visual poetry was heavily...
, concrete
Concrete poetry
Concrete poetry or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on....
and performance
Performance poetry
Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution.-History:...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
who was a central figure in the British Poetry Revival
British Poetry Revival
The British Poetry Revival is the general name given to a loose poetry movement in Britain that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The revival was a modernist-inspired reaction to the Movement's more conservative approach to British poetry.-Beginnings:...
.
Early life
Cobbing was born in EnfieldEnfield Town
Enfield Town is the historic town centre of Enfield, formerly in the county of Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Enfield. It is north north-east of Charing Cross...
and grew up within the Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
. He attended Enfield Grammar School
Enfield Grammar School
Enfield Grammar School is a boys' comprehensive school in Enfield Town in the London Borough of Enfield in north London.-History:Enfield Grammar School was founded on the 25th. May 1558...
and then trained as an accountant. He later went to Bognor Training College to become a teacher. During the Second World War, he was a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
.
Early involvement with poetry and performance
His involvement with performance began with the Hendon Experimental Art Club and the HendonHendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
-based magazine And in 1951. This led to his setting up Writers Forum
Writers Forum (UK)
Writers Forum was a publishing venture started in Hendon, London in 1951 by Bob Cobbing as a fortnightly workshop and magazine. In 1963 a press with the publishing imprint 'Writers Forum' was begun and administrated by Cobbing, John Rowan and Jeff Nuttall....
, which began publishing in 1963. In 1964 he published ABC In Sound, a book that combined his interest in sound and concrete poetry in an exploration of the visual and auditory possibilities of the English alphabet
English alphabet
The modern English alphabet is a Latin alphabet consisting of 26 letters and 2 ligatures – the same letters that are found in the Basic modern Latin alphabet:...
.
Better Books
He left teaching around this time and managed Better BooksBetter Books
Better Books was an independent bookstore. It was founded by Tony Godwin and was located at 94 Charing Cross Road, London.-History:It was founded by British publisher Tony Godwin who took over the premises at 94 Charing Cross Road, London, in 1946....
on Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus and then becomes Tottenham Court Road...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Better Books was more than a mere bookshop. Once described as a ‘mini Arts Lab
Arts Lab
The Arts Lab was an alternative arts centre, founded in 1967 by Jim Haynes at 182 Drury Lane. Although only active for two years, it was influential in inspiring many similar centres in the UK and continental Europe, including the expanded I.C.A...
’ it served as stage, cinema and gallery. Its cross-disciplinary approach welcomed new art forms like assemblage, performance art, and radical poetry. Together with other alternative galleries such as 26 Kingly Street and Indica Bookshop, Better Books was one of the hot spots of the London underground
UK underground
The Underground was a countercultural movement in the United Kingdom linked to the underground culture in the United States and associated with the hippie phenomenon. Its primary focus was around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill in London...
scene.
This shop was the venue for a number of events and happenings associated with what Cobbing's friend Jeff Nuttall
Jeff Nuttall
Jeff Nuttall was an English poet, publisher, actor, painter, sculptor, jazz trumpeter, anarchist sympathiser and social commentator who was a key part of the British 1960s counter-culture. He was the brother of literary critic A. D. Nuttall.-Life and work:Jeff Nuttall was born in Clitheroe,...
termed the Bomb Culture, the British version of the 1960s counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
. As an evolution of the earlier Hendon Film Society he began avant-garde film screenings under the title Cinema 65 which led to the formation of the London Film-Makers' Co-op
London Film-Makers' Co-op
The London Film-makers' Co-op, or LFMC, was a British film-making workshop founded in 1966. It ceased to exist in 1999 when it merged with London Video Arts to form LUX....
The 1970s
During the first half of the 1970s, Cobbing was able to use the facilities of the Poetry SocietyPoetry Society
The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry".The Society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society in 1912...
to produce Writers Forum books. In all, the press published over 1,000 titles between 1963 and 2002. As well as fostering the younger poets of the British Poetry Revival
British Poetry Revival
The British Poetry Revival is the general name given to a loose poetry movement in Britain that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The revival was a modernist-inspired reaction to the Movement's more conservative approach to British poetry.-Beginnings:...
, Writers Forum also published works by John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
and Ian Hamilton Finlay
Ian Hamilton Finlay
Ian Hamilton Finlay, CBE, was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener.-Biography:Finlay was born in Nassau, Bahamas of Scottish parents. He was educated in Scotland at Dollar Academy. At the age of 13, with the outbreak of World War II, he was evacuated to family in the countryside...
. Writers Forum also ran a regular Saturday afternoon writers' workshop at which poets read and discussed each other's work.
In the early 1970s the Poetry Society did not have any printing facilities. Cobbing had his own equipment elsewhere throughout the 40 years of his (largely solo) operation of Writers Forum. In the mid-1970s, against tremendous opposition of the rump of the old guard on the Poetry Society General Council, Cobbing and others opened a public print shop on the society's premises. Cobbing brought in his own equipment and allowed it to be used by anyone wishing to print their own book of poetry. Later the society provided a desktop litho, plate-maker and golfball typewriter with a diversion of the funds allocated to Poetry Review which was henceforth, for some years, printed in house.
Cobbing also explored his interest in performance works for multiple voices and musical instruments in groups like Bird Yak and Konkrete Canticle, which included poets Paula Claire and Bill Griffiths
Bill Griffiths
Bill Griffiths was a poet and Anglo-Saxon scholar associated with the British Poetry Revival.-Overview:...
and musician Michael Chant
Michael Chant
Michael Chant is an English composer and political activist. Born in 1945, he became politically active in the 1960s while associated with another composer, Cornelius Cardew....
. He was also co-founder of the Association of Little Presses
Association of Little Presses
The Association of Little Presses was an organisation dedicated to promoting small press publishing activity in Britain and Ireland.ALP was founded at a meeting held at Arlington Mill, Bibury, Gloucestershire on July 23, 1966...
, an organisation that promoted the work of small publishers in Britain and Ireland.
Later life and work
Cobbing was a prolific writer and performer and continued to work right up to his death. In 2000, he performed with Lawrence UptonLawrence Upton
Lawrence Upton is a poet, graphic artist and sound artist, currently directing Writers Forum. Upton is remarkable for the range of his genres and forms; and for the political savvy of his writing. He is a performer, continuing and expanding the performance tradition of, amongst others, Bob Cobbing...
and Derek Shiel
Derek Shiel
Derek Shiel is a Dublin-born, London-based painter, sculptor, writer, and film-maker.-Education:Shiel was educated at Fettes College, Edinburgh and the Edinburgh College of Art, where he won the Andrew Grant Scholarship for two years, completed a Diploma in Art, and was awarded a post-graduate...
at The Klinker, Islington, London.
He also used his teacher training to work on performances with schoolchildren. Much of his later work consists of visual texts, artist's books and markings that were used as notations or, more strictly speaking, jumping off points for performance. He also worked on more directly collaborative works with other poets, such as the Domestic Ambient Noise project, a series of 300 booklets created with his friend and fellow Writers Forum editor Lawrence Upton
Lawrence Upton
Lawrence Upton is a poet, graphic artist and sound artist, currently directing Writers Forum. Upton is remarkable for the range of his genres and forms; and for the political savvy of his writing. He is a performer, continuing and expanding the performance tradition of, amongst others, Bob Cobbing...
. Since Cobbing's death, Upton has carried on the work of running Writers Forum.