Dublin Core
Title
William Cobb-Profile
Subject
William Cobb's biography sketch, faculty photos, and personal writing
Creator
University of Montevallo English Department
Carmichael Library Archives
Encyclopedia of Alabama
Carmichael Library Archives
Encyclopedia of Alabama
Source
Carmichael Archives
Format
Images, PDF files, text
Type
Images, PDF files, text
Person Item Type Metadata
Birth Date
October 20, 1937
Birthplace
Demopolis, Alabama
Occupation
Writer, professor emeritus
Biographical Text
Born October 20, 1937, William Cobb is a novelist, playwright, and professor emeritus at the University of Montevallo. He taught Southern literature at Montevallo starting in the fall of 1963, when the school was Alabama College, remaining on campus until his retirement in 2000, which included 13 years as “writer-in-residence”.
Cobb received his undergraduate degree from the University of West Alabama, then Livingston State College. His master’s in creative writing from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. While at Montevallo he defined himself as someone who “wasn’t a scholar, but whatever they needed teaching, I was willing to do it. I loved literature and I loved teaching.” In 1965 he married Loretta Douglas, now Loretta Cobb, and together they have one child. Cobb struggled with alcoholism for 20 years after his marriage, and was largely unsuccessful in publication attempts for his short stories and novels, eventually entering into a rehabilitation program and becoming sober in the early 1980s. Later in this decade he would see three of his plays produced in New York City.
While employed by the University of Montevallo, Cobb published six novels, a collection of short stories, and several plays. Much of his work focuses on racial strife, and is marked by its dark comedy, and Southern gothic qualities. His first novel, published in 1984, was Coming of Age at the Y. His most acclaimed novel, A Walk Through Fire, came in 1992, and explores racial tensions in the American South. Cobb has earned a number of awards for his short stories, including two Hackney Literary Awards from Birmingham-Southern College, a recognition for best fiction in 1984 from the Sucarnochee Review, and the Alabama Writer’s Forum’s Harper Lee award in 2007.
Cobb received his undergraduate degree from the University of West Alabama, then Livingston State College. His master’s in creative writing from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. While at Montevallo he defined himself as someone who “wasn’t a scholar, but whatever they needed teaching, I was willing to do it. I loved literature and I loved teaching.” In 1965 he married Loretta Douglas, now Loretta Cobb, and together they have one child. Cobb struggled with alcoholism for 20 years after his marriage, and was largely unsuccessful in publication attempts for his short stories and novels, eventually entering into a rehabilitation program and becoming sober in the early 1980s. Later in this decade he would see three of his plays produced in New York City.
While employed by the University of Montevallo, Cobb published six novels, a collection of short stories, and several plays. Much of his work focuses on racial strife, and is marked by its dark comedy, and Southern gothic qualities. His first novel, published in 1984, was Coming of Age at the Y. His most acclaimed novel, A Walk Through Fire, came in 1992, and explores racial tensions in the American South. Cobb has earned a number of awards for his short stories, including two Hackney Literary Awards from Birmingham-Southern College, a recognition for best fiction in 1984 from the Sucarnochee Review, and the Alabama Writer’s Forum’s Harper Lee award in 2007.
Bibliography
Encyclopedia of Alabama
Carmichael Library Archives
Carmichael Library Archives