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 via the Contact page.
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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
Zoom event celebrates Nicholson's birthday
The Society held its first virtual event today when committee member Brian Whalley hosted a gathering on Zoom to mark Norman Nicholson's birthday. The event featured a reading of three Nicholson poems, Christmas Carol for the First Man in the Moon, read by Antoinette Fawcett, Winter Song, read by Charlie Lambert, and The Unpredicted Spring, read by Kathleen Jones. Christmas Carol for the First Man in the Moon has never been published in book form and was recently uncovered by Antoinette who published it in the latest edition of Comet. Kathleen gave an update on the book of poems from our Lockdown Poetry Competition which the Society is publishing, taking as its title The Unpredicted Spring. She then read the two winning poems, Learning Whimbrel by Martyn Halsall, and Silently Ignoring the World by Katie Deutsch. Charlie Lambert gave an update on Project 14, our project to buy and renovate Nicholson's lifelong home in Millom.
It was a successful event which was especially valuable for enabling members who live far from Cumbria to join in. We will build on this to present online events in the future.
posted 8/1/21
It was a successful event which was especially valuable for enabling members who live far from Cumbria to join in. We will build on this to present online events in the future.
posted 8/1/21
'Plankton' please!
Norman Nicholson's poem 'Plankton' was featured on the Radio 4 programme Poetry Please on December 27th, when Roger McGough's guest Ian McMillan selected it while discussing the notion of 'the universal in the local'. 'An extreme example of that, is the fantastic Cumbrian poet Norman Nicholson...a fantastic poet of locality and locale, and also a kind of spiritualism'. The programme is on the BBC I-Player HERE, available till January 23rd.
posted 4/1/21
posted 4/1/21
'That same flower / Still grows today'
Nicholson's ability to inspire contemporary art has been demonstrated again in a striking series of photographic images available on the website of Millom artist Irene Rogan. Exploring the theme of place and how our view of locations change over time, Irene and photographer Philip Green draw on extracts from two Nicholson poems, 'The Bloody Cranesbill' and 'Plankton', both from Nicholson's 1981 collection 'Sea to the West'. Their work, photographed at Hodbarrow, also includes a forceful visual statement highighting the distressingly low value placed on wool and the challenges faced by sheep farmers.
The work, titled 'Restoration - Interpreting Place' is available HERE.
posted 16/12/20
The work, titled 'Restoration - Interpreting Place' is available HERE.
posted 16/12/20
Nicholson featured in War Poetry Review
The latest edition of War Poetry Review, edited by Merryn Williams, includes a discussion of Norman Nicholson's war poetry by Dr Andrew Frayn, one of the speakers at the Society's festival in Millom last year. The Review is published by the War Poets Association.
posted 12/12/20
posted 12/12/20
Lockdown Poetry trophies
The trophies awarded to the winners of our Lockdown Poetry competition are made from Cumbrian slate and supplied by the Stone Workshop of Ulverston. Congratulations again to our two winners, Martyn Halsall and Katie Deutsch.
posted 1/12/20
posted 1/12/20
'An exciting and important project'
The Mayor of Copeland Mike Starkie has described our Nicholson Trails App as 'an exciting and important project for the Millom community.' Mike's very encouraging comment came as Copeland Borough Council issued a news release today, confirming funding for the project. Construction of the app is well under way and we expect to launch it in the New Year. See full statement here.
posted 17/11/20
posted 17/11/20
'I cannot imagine a more important cultural step'
Our project to buy Norman Nicholson's house and turn it into a genuine community asset has received a wonderful endorsement from the director of the Brantwood Trust, the organisation which looks after John Ruskin's house overlooking Coniston. Howard Hull has contacted us to say: 'I cannot imagine a more important cultural step for Cumbria or a greater joy for Millom than that Nicholson’s legacy should be fully celebrated in the very building which was so much a part of his life. As the Director of the home of one of Cumbria’s other great cultural figures, John Ruskin, I know how powerful and important is the influence of the actual dwelling of a great writer'. Thank you Howard, your backing means a lot.
You can read more about the project at www.normannicholsonhouse.co.uk
posted 9/11/20
You can read more about the project at www.normannicholsonhouse.co.uk
posted 9/11/20
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