Welcome
Welcome to the website of the Norman Nicholson Society. The site aims to provide information about Nicholson and his work and encourage the study and enjoyment of this remarkable man's writings. Here you will also find information about the NN Society which holds regular events and publishes the newsletter Comet. The Society is based in Millom, on the banks of the River Duddon and in the shadow of Black Combe, and has a worldwide membership.
MembershipNew members of the Norman Nicholson Society are warmly welcomed. Membership fees are £15 per annum or £20 for a couple living at the same address, and £6 youth membership (up to age 25). Check out benefits of membership here, including how to access the Members' exclusive area of this website. Please contact us at nns.membership@gmail.com
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Norman Nicholson
Norman Nicholson was born in Millom, Cumbria, in 1914 and lived there until his death in 1987 with the exception of two years in his late teens when he was sent to a sanatorium in Hampshire to recover from tuberculosis - an event which shaped his subsequent life. His writing career lasted from 1930 until his death and embraced plays, poetry, novels, criticism and essays. He is best known for his poetry and was awarded the Queen's Medal for Poetry in 1977 and the OBE in 1981.
Read an appreciation of Norman Nicholson by Fran Baker, former archivist at the John Rylands University of Manchester Library, HERE. Most frequently-asked question: Where can I get hold of Nicholson's work? The Greetings shop, 26 Lapstone Road, Millom LA18 4BU, has a range of Nicholson books in stock. Or try Faber & Faber HERE or Amazon HERE, or click HERE for links to Nicholson's poems online. |
LATEST NEWS
Millom art project makes Nicholson connections
Norman Nicholson's work and the environment of his home town are celebrated in a new project by Millom artist Irene Rogan. Unpublished Tour features photographs, memories and interpretation by a number of contributors who were invited to focus on the usually inaccessible edges of the Duddon Estuary and the restoration of Haverigg Dunes. The project had a physical launch at Millom Palladium on November 27th and also has an online presence at https://www.unpublishedtour.uk/ Contributors include Jonathan Powell, who retraces the route of Nicholson's regular Sunday walks with his father and Uncle Jim, Simone Faulkner, who has assembled a striking series of 'then and now' photographs, and Chris Powell, who recalls his personal connection with the sculptor Josefina de Vasconcellos and tracks down the surviving physical evidence of Millom Pier.
posted 5/12/21
'I must illumine my own silence...'
A new academic paper, focusing on Norman Nicholson's poem 'Hard of Hearing' in the context of ambience, was published yesterday. The paper, by our own committee member Laura Day, explores how Nicholson's own partial deafness shaped his experience of the Cumbrian landscape. As Laura writes, 'for those of us with perfect hearing, Nicholson’s poem provides us with an opportunity to try to comprehend what it would be like to live in a world without sound'. It is published in Moveable Type, the graduate journal of University College London, and is available online HERE. 'Hard of Hearing' appeared in Nicholson's final collection, Sea to the West, 1981.
posted 19/11/21
posted 19/11/21
Revised call for papers
Dr Stephen Ely has sent a revised Call for Papers for the Apocalypse Symposia which we have featured on our website ( see October 14th, below). The main changes are that there are now details about the dates of submission of proposals.
Apocalypse I: please send proposals of up to 250 words for 20-minute papers, plus a short biographical note, to John Goodby (j.goodby@shu.ac.uk) by Friday 28th January, 2022.
Apocalypse II: please send proposals of up to 250 words for 20-minute papers, plus a short biographical note, to Steve Ely (s.ely@hud.ac.uk) by Friday 30th September, 2022.
The new Call for Papers can be viewed here (click on the 'fullscreen' icon, bottom right):
Apocalypse I: please send proposals of up to 250 words for 20-minute papers, plus a short biographical note, to John Goodby (j.goodby@shu.ac.uk) by Friday 28th January, 2022.
Apocalypse II: please send proposals of up to 250 words for 20-minute papers, plus a short biographical note, to Steve Ely (s.ely@hud.ac.uk) by Friday 30th September, 2022.
The new Call for Papers can be viewed here (click on the 'fullscreen' icon, bottom right):
posted 19/11/21, updated 5/12/21
South Cumbria Musical Festival
The Norman Nicholson Society is delighted to continue our sponsorship of two classes at the South Cumbria Musical Festival, to take place in Ulverston in March. Both classes are in the Speech section and will feature recitations of two poems by Nicholson – ‘Road Up’ for ages up to and including school year 6, and ‘Wall’ for school years 7 – 9 inclusive. The classes sponsored by the Society are in memory of our late friend and former chair of the Society Peggy Troll. The winning performances will receive book tokens of £20.00 (Class 206 ‘Road Up’ ) and £30.00 (Class 212 ‘Wall’). Entries for all classes are now open, deadline December 31st. The festival runs from March 21st to March 26th 2022. Full details here: http://southcumbriamusicalfestival.co.uk/entry/ The syllabus can also been downloaded from the website.
posted 5/11/21
posted 5/11/21
'Eternity flows in a mountain beck...'
Antoinette Fawcett led an informative and much-appreciated online seminar discussing Nicholson's poem 'To the River Duddon', as the Society's autumn event for 2021. The poem, which was published in 1944 in Nicholson's first collection Five Rivers, gave Antoinette plenty to discuss, from the geographical significance of the Duddon, to textual changes in the poem over the decades, to the differing viewpoints of Nicholson and Wordsworth. Among the attendees we were delighted to see two speakers from the Norman Nicholson Festival, the poet Ken Cockburn and Dr Andrew Frayn of Edinburgh Napier University, as well as attendees from the USA and Australia, students from the University of Cumbria, and our own members from across the country.
The Duddon at Wallabarrow. Photo by Gordon Mellor geograph.org.uk/p/378966
posted 4/11/21
Challenging responses to poetry of the 1940s
Norman Nicholson is highlighted as an example of the regionalist movement against Oxbridge/metropolitan dominance of literature in the 1940s,in a call for papers for a symposium on Apocalypse Poetry to be held next year. Nicholson is named in publicity for the two-part symposium which will be organised by Sheffield Hallam University and Huddersfield University, taking place on March 19 2022 at Sheffield Hallam, organised by Professor John Goodby, and on November 12 2022 at Huddersfield, organised by Dr Steve Ely. The call for papers appears below. Booking details and deadlines for proposals have yet to be published.
The conference arises from James Keery's ground-breaking Apocalypse anthology, which the organisers believe has the potential to challenge the dominant critical responses to the poetry of the 1940s - and perhaps provoke a reassessment of received accounts of the narrative of 20th century English-language poetry. Click on the 'fullscreen' icon, bottom right:
The conference arises from James Keery's ground-breaking Apocalypse anthology, which the organisers believe has the potential to challenge the dominant critical responses to the poetry of the 1940s - and perhaps provoke a reassessment of received accounts of the narrative of 20th century English-language poetry. Click on the 'fullscreen' icon, bottom right:
posted 14/10/21
Comet - autumn edition
The autumn edition of Comet has been published and is available to members in the Members' Area of this website. If you're a member of the Society and haven't yet registered for access to this exclusive section, go to the Membership page for the details as to how to do so. Among the features in this latest Comet are Ken Cockburn's talk from our online festival this summer, the latest in Brian Whalley's series on the rocks of Cumbria, and an article by Jack Threlfall Hartley on his involvement with Nicholson's work and with the people and places of Iceland. And a lot more!
posted 1/10/21
posted 1/10/21
'A profoundly political writer'
There's an excellent appreciation of Nicholson on the website of the Morning Star, written by Nick Matthews who has recently joined the Society. Nick's article also mentions his visit to the exhibition celebrating the Duddon Sonnets at Wordsworth Grasmere and how impressed he was with our own contribution to it. Read his piece HERE.
posted 27/9/21
Festival 2021: perspectives on poets and poetry
The Society's second biennial two-day festival took place over the weekend and was a resounding success. Taking place on Zoom because of continuing risks posed by the Covid pandemic, the festival attracted attendees from all over the UK as well as the USA, Canada, India and New Zealand.
The opening session on Saturday afternoon featured the Scottish poet Ken Cockburn who compared his home town of Kirkcaldy with Nicholson's Millom and demonstrated the influence of Nicholson in his own writing. Our second speaker was Jeff Cowton, Curator and Head of Learning at Wordsworth Grasmere, who gave us a wonderful visual tour of the recent developments at Dove Cottage which include a display centred on Nicholson, provided by the Society, within the Still Glides the Stream exhibition, celebrating Wordsworth's Duddon Sonnets. Between the two talks, our chair Charlie Lambert gave an update on the Norman Nicholson's Millom trails app, launched at the end of March (Android users click HERE for Google Play. iPhone users click HERE for the Apple Store).
Saturday evening consisted of a delightful evening of poetry, as 14 poets who contributed to our recent anthology The Unpredicted Spring came together via Zoom to read and discuss their work. On Sunday we enjoyed two impeccably-researched and well-presented talks by two of the Society's younger members - Laura Day, who is studying for her PhD at Durham University, and Jack Threlfall Hartley who is working towards his PhD at Oxford University. Laura examined Nicholson's poem Hard of Hearing while Jack - currently based in Iceland - explored the influence of Norse language and locations in Nicholson's work. Charlie Lambert unveiled the Norman Nicholson Audio Archive, a collection of audio recordings with people who knew Nicholson personally, plus recordings of the poet himself generously made available by permission of BBC Radio Cumbria. The festival concluded with an appreciation of the two days by Kathleen Jones, vice-president of the Society and Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund.
All events were free but attendees were invited to make a donation to the Nicholson House Project. This raised a very impressive £594 through our GoFundMe campaign - thank you to everyone who contributed.
Our thanks also go to Millom Town Council and Millom CGP Trust for supporting the festival financially.
posted 28/6/21
The opening session on Saturday afternoon featured the Scottish poet Ken Cockburn who compared his home town of Kirkcaldy with Nicholson's Millom and demonstrated the influence of Nicholson in his own writing. Our second speaker was Jeff Cowton, Curator and Head of Learning at Wordsworth Grasmere, who gave us a wonderful visual tour of the recent developments at Dove Cottage which include a display centred on Nicholson, provided by the Society, within the Still Glides the Stream exhibition, celebrating Wordsworth's Duddon Sonnets. Between the two talks, our chair Charlie Lambert gave an update on the Norman Nicholson's Millom trails app, launched at the end of March (Android users click HERE for Google Play. iPhone users click HERE for the Apple Store).
Saturday evening consisted of a delightful evening of poetry, as 14 poets who contributed to our recent anthology The Unpredicted Spring came together via Zoom to read and discuss their work. On Sunday we enjoyed two impeccably-researched and well-presented talks by two of the Society's younger members - Laura Day, who is studying for her PhD at Durham University, and Jack Threlfall Hartley who is working towards his PhD at Oxford University. Laura examined Nicholson's poem Hard of Hearing while Jack - currently based in Iceland - explored the influence of Norse language and locations in Nicholson's work. Charlie Lambert unveiled the Norman Nicholson Audio Archive, a collection of audio recordings with people who knew Nicholson personally, plus recordings of the poet himself generously made available by permission of BBC Radio Cumbria. The festival concluded with an appreciation of the two days by Kathleen Jones, vice-president of the Society and Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund.
All events were free but attendees were invited to make a donation to the Nicholson House Project. This raised a very impressive £594 through our GoFundMe campaign - thank you to everyone who contributed.
Our thanks also go to Millom Town Council and Millom CGP Trust for supporting the festival financially.
posted 28/6/21
Donation in memory of 'inspirational' Wilf Kimber
Karen Seward
Former English teacher at Barrow Grammar School and Barrow Sixth Form College Wilf Kimber has been commemorated by a wonderfully generous donation of £5,000 to the crowdfunding campaign which is raising money towards the purchase of Nicholson's old home in Millom.
The donation to the GoFundMe project comes from Karen Seward, who attended the Sixth Form College from 1981 to 1983 and remembers Mr Kimber as 'an inspirational teacher who gave me a lifelong love of the the wonderful work of Norman Nicholson'. Mr Kimber passed away last year at the age of 97.
Karen is now global head of litigation at the London law firm Allen and Overy. She said: 'The Nicholson House project will, I am sure, go a long way towards cementing for Nicholson the reputation that should be his by right, as one of the greatest of British poets'.
Charlie Lambert, who chairs both the Norman Nicholson House Community Interest Company and the Norman Nicholson Society, said: 'This is a stunning piece of generosity by Karen, and a wonderful way to celebrate the memory of Mr Kimber. It shows what a huge impact the work of teachers has on individua pupils, lasting a lifetime'.
The Nicholson House project is currently approaching major funders for the substantial six-figure sum needed to buy the house and turn it into a worthy tribute to Nicholson as well as a meaningful community facility in Millom. The GoFundMe project has a target of £10,000 which gives individuals the chance to contribute as well as demonstrating that Nicholson admirers are prepared to put their own money into the scheme. Contributions of whatever size are very welcome and can be made HERE.
posted 17/5/21
The donation to the GoFundMe project comes from Karen Seward, who attended the Sixth Form College from 1981 to 1983 and remembers Mr Kimber as 'an inspirational teacher who gave me a lifelong love of the the wonderful work of Norman Nicholson'. Mr Kimber passed away last year at the age of 97.
Karen is now global head of litigation at the London law firm Allen and Overy. She said: 'The Nicholson House project will, I am sure, go a long way towards cementing for Nicholson the reputation that should be his by right, as one of the greatest of British poets'.
Charlie Lambert, who chairs both the Norman Nicholson House Community Interest Company and the Norman Nicholson Society, said: 'This is a stunning piece of generosity by Karen, and a wonderful way to celebrate the memory of Mr Kimber. It shows what a huge impact the work of teachers has on individua pupils, lasting a lifetime'.
The Nicholson House project is currently approaching major funders for the substantial six-figure sum needed to buy the house and turn it into a worthy tribute to Nicholson as well as a meaningful community facility in Millom. The GoFundMe project has a target of £10,000 which gives individuals the chance to contribute as well as demonstrating that Nicholson admirers are prepared to put their own money into the scheme. Contributions of whatever size are very welcome and can be made HERE.
posted 17/5/21
'Norman Nicholson's Millom' - walking trails app is live!
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posted 29/3/21
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