Writers Forum is a small publisher, workshop and writers' network established by

Bob Cobbing Bob Cobbing (30 July 1920 – 29 September 2002) was a British sound, visual, concrete and performance poet who was a central figure in the British Poetry Revival. Early life Cobbing was born in Enfield and grew up within the Plymouth Brethre ...

. The roots of Writers Forum were in the 1954 arts organisation Group H, and the ''And'' magazine that Cobbing edited. The writers' branch of Group H was called Writers Forum. In 1963 a press with the publishing imprint "Writers Forum" was begun and administered by Cobbing, John Rowan and

Jeff Nuttall Jeffrey Addison Nuttall (8 July 1933 – 4 January 2004) was an English poet, publisher, actor, painter, sculptor, jazz trumpeter, anarchist and social commentator who was a key part of the British 1960s counter-culture. He was the brother of l ...

. Between 1963 and 2002 Writers' Forum published more than one thousand pamphlets and books including works by

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

Brion Gysin Brion Gysin (19 January 1916 – 13 July 1986) was a British-Canadian painter, writer, sound poet, performance artist and inventor of experimental devices. He is best known for his use of the cut-up technique, alongside his close friend, the ...

, and P. J. O'Rourke, as well as a wide range of

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. T ...

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

poets, such as

Eric Mottram Eric Mottram (29 December 1924 – 16 January 1995) was a British teacher, critic, editor and poet who was one of the central figures in the British Poetry Revival. Early life and education Mottram was born in London and educated at Purley Gramm ...

, Bill Griffiths, Geraldine Monk,

Maggie O'Sullivan Maggie O'Sullivan was born in 1951. She is a British poet, performer and visual artist associated with the British Poetry Revival. O'Sullivan was born in Lincoln, England of Irish immigrant parents. She moved to London in 1971 and worked for th ...

Paula Claire Paula Claire (born 1939, Northampton, England) is a British Poet-Artist, whose work spans the areas of sound, visual, concrete and performance poetry. She was associated with the British Poetry Revival Movement in the 1970s and a member of ''Konk ...

and Sean Bonney. While publishing was integral to the Cobbing-led workshop, it also provided an opportunity for poets to read their works in a supportive and non-critical environment. After Cobbing's death Writers Forum was directed by Lawrence Upton and Adrian Clarke until July 2010, when Clarke resigned. Since early July 2010, Writers Forum has been directed by Lawrence Upton (until his death in 2020) with assistance from others. Tina Bass was appointed Assistant Director in December 2010. Writers Forum continues to hold workshops and to publish. The magazine ''And'' ceased in 2010; but ''Pocket Litter'' was started in 2011. A break-off "Writers Forum (second series)" workshop was founded in 2010, which, though having similarities in stated aims, is not supported by Writers Forum. The Forum's last publication before the split was SJ Fowler's ''Poggel Intricate''. Organisations with similar names in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

are recognised.

References

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External links

Writers' Forum website
Small press publishing companies British Poetry Revival

References

Further reading

External links