John, thanks for the info about Charles Henri Ford and Bob Cobbing,
can everyone please send links to any obituaries/articles, thanks. On a personal note Bob Cobbing printed my first self-produced book of poetry for me: I was 18 then and didn't really know who he was having been told about him by another poet. Anyway I'd written to him and he responded and I went to meet him at his flat in Islington where I spent a couple of hours whilst we talked and he used his photocopier to produce forty copies of my booklet. I've never met him again since then as I moved away from London a few months after that meeting and failed to keep in touch. I remember him as being very helpful, giving me advice on poetry as well as some free copies of a poetry magazine he was working on at the time which I now forget the name of. I remember he told me that he sold his first poems by standing outside a library and asking people if they were interested in buying his work. Anyway, meeting him at the time was quite inspirational and what I remember most was that as I first entered his flat there was a sculpture to the right in the hallway which consisted of some paint-spattered shoes on a board with bathroom taps attached to the toe of each shoe. As the years went on I realised what a huge figure Bob Cobbing was, interestingly I don't think he ever got the wider attention that his work deserved, but then that's probably the fate of many poets. I'm sure Bob and Charles will be sadly missed. cheers, Sol.
