East Anglian Writers

David Cobb

Non-fiction (Academic and Educational)

(N.B. Selected Works)

• English for Gambian Senior Secondary Schools (Macmillan, 2005) Student Bk 1 Teacher Bk 1 Teacher Bk 2  

• Senior Secondary English for Ghana (Macmillan, 2004) Student Bk 1 Student Bk 2

• English for Senior Secondary Schools 1, 2 and 3 (Macmillan, 2000) Buy Now

• New Focus English for Nigerian Junior Secondary Schools (Macmillan) Teacher Bk1 Workbook 1 Student Bk2 Teacher Bk2 Workbook 2 Student Bk3 Teacher Bk3 Workbook 3

• New Focus English for Sierra Leone (Macmillan) Student Bk1 Teacher Bk1 Student Bk2 Teacher Bk2 (PBK) Teacher Bk2 (HBK) Student Bk3

• Passport to English for Cameroon (Macmillan, 2000) Student Bk 2 Teacher Bk 2 Student Bk 4 Teacher Bk 4 Student Bk 5 Teacher Bk 5

• PETRA English Course for Jordan 1-5 (Longman, 1985-1990)

• Active Grammar (Longman, 1984)

Non-fiction (General)

• The Dead Poets' Cabaret (Iron, 2003) Buy Now

• The Genius of Haiku : Readings from R H Blyth (Hokuseido, 1995)
   

Poetry

• Business in Eden (2006)

• Forefathers (Leap, 2004)

• Palm (Equinox, 2002) Buy Now

• The British Museum Haiku (British Museum, 2002) Buy Now

• A Bowl of Sloes (Snapshot, 1999)

• The Iron Book of British Haiku (Iron, 1998) Buy Now

• The Spring Journey to the Saxon Shore (Equinox, 1997) Buy Now

• Jumping from Kiyomizu (Iron, 1996) Buy Now

• Chips off the Old Great Wall (Hub, 1993)

Biography

David Cobb was born in Harrow, 1926. During national service found only one outlet for the urge to write: a pantomime in which he cast a six-foot guardsman as Cinderella, though 'she' was only allowed out to rehearsals with a military police escort. In 1950s, read German and began to teach it, then fell to the lures of Hamburg (Unesco Institute for Education, 1958-62) and Bangkok (British Council postings in Thai secondary schools and universities, and the Asian Institute of Technology, 1962-73.) Joined Longman, educational publishers, as head of ELT RDU, 1973-1985. In this position he made field studies or wrote teaching materials for use in numerous countries, in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Since 1985 freelance and now working on grammar books for China.

In 1977, while on a mission to Tokyo to study how Japanese teach English, became fascinated by haiku. Set up British Haiku Society, 1990, founded its journal, Blithe Spirit, and was elected president, 1997-2002. In this field he has now something of an international reputation: has had small collections published in Dutch, German, Slovene; the British Museum Haiku has appeared also in Swedish and Russian, as well as an American edition; and he was chosen to give the opening address at the inaugural European Haiku Conference, Bad Nauheim, Germany, 2004.

He is general editor of a library series for young children in Africa and the Caribbean (Hop, Step, Jump: Macmillan). He is a member of the Society of Authors.