Norman Nicholson

Norman Nicholson (1914-1987). Courtesy the Norman Nicholson Society.

Norman Cornthwaite Nicholson OBE (8 January 1914 - 30 May 1987), was an English poet, known for his association with the Cumberland town of Millom. His poetry is noted for its local concerns, straightforwardness of language, and inclusion of elements of common speech.

Life

Nicholson was born in 14 St George's Terrace, a Victorian terraced house and outfitter's shop in the small industrial town of Millom in Cumberland, on the edge of the Lake District. He lived in the same house for most of his life and moved from his home only when he needed treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis aged 16, being away for 2 years in a Hampshire sanatorium.

He wore large and distinctive side whiskers which gave him a slightly eccentric air. His writing career stretched from the 1930s up until his death in 1987.

His works include the typically titled Rock Face (1948) and the later Sea to the West (1981). He is chiefly known for his poetry but was the author of many works in other forms; novels, plays, essays, topography and criticism.

Writing

Nicholson's work is characterised by the simplicity and directness of his language. He attempted to write in the vernacular of the common people in his native town. Much of his work concerned mining, quarrying and ironworks—the dominant industries in his area. Religion and faith were another aspect of his work. His poetry also abounds with direct quotations from everyday life, skilfully woven into the body of the poem. The opening of Old Man at a Cricket Match, is typical:

'It's mending worse.' He said,

Bending west his head ...

Nicholson is not generally associated with any of the poetic movements of the 20th century. Rather, like Charles Causley, he seems to be considered more of an isolated figure, working on his poetry outside of the mainstream of poetic trends. Perhaps because of this, Nicholson's work has received relatively little critical attention. He is not without his admirers though. Seamus Heaney has said "Nicholson's diction and images realise the texture and pieties of a whole way of life…. A domestic world of bereavements and nostalgias, riddles and catch-phrases, is caught in poems that are half-humorous, half-melancholy written in a relaxed and colloquial style." Nicholson was the subject of a South Bank Show broadcast in the United Kingdom on 4 November 1984.

Recognition

Blue plaque for Norman Nicholson, Millom. Photo by the wub. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Nicholson received a Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1977.

He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1981. Norman Nicholson's home at 14 St George's Terrace has become a health food shop and café with a blue plaque commemorating Nicholson above the door.

Millom Library and the John Rylands University Library, Manchester, have bronze busts of Nicholson by Joan Palmer.

A memorial stained glass window created by Christine Boyce can be found in St George's Church, Millom.

Millom Heritage Museum And Visitor Centre houses information about Nicholson, as well a drift mine exhibit.

Nicholson's personal collection of published poetry was acquired by the John Rylands University Library, Manchester from his family.

Publications

Poetry

• Five Rivers. London: Faber, 1944; New York: E.P. Dutton, 1945.
• Rock Face. London: Faber, 1948.
• The Pot Geranium. London: Faber, 1954.
• A Local Habitation. London: Faber, 1972.
• The Shadow of Black Combe. Ashington, Northumberland, UK: Mid Northumberland Arts Group, 1978.
• Stitch and Stone: A Cumbrian landscape. Sunderland, UK: Ceolfrith Press, 1979.
• Sea to the West. London & Boston: Faber, 1981.
• Selected Poems, 1940-1982. London: Faber, 1982.
• Collected Poems (edited by Neil Curry). London: Faber, 1994.

Plays

• The Old Man of the Mountains: A play in three acts. London: Faber, 1946.
• Prophesy to the Wind: A play in four scenes and a prologue. London: Faber, 1949.
• A Match for the Devil (verse play). London: Faber, 1955.
• Birth by Drowning. London: Faber, 1960.

Novels

• The Fire of the Lord: A novel. London: Nicholson & Watson, 1944.
• The Green Shore. London: Nicholson & Watson, 1947.

Short fiction

• Provincial Pleasures. London: R. Hale, 1955.

Non-fiction

• Man and Literature (lectures). London: S.C.M. Press, 1943.
• Cumberland and Westmoreland. London: R. Hale, 1949.
• H.G. Wells. London: Arthur Barker, 1950; New York: A. Swallow, 1950.
• William Cowper. London: John Lehman, 1951.
• The Lakers: Adventures of the first tourists. London: R. Hale, 1955.
• Portrait of the Lakes. London: R. Hale, 1963.
• Greater Lakeland.London: R. Hale, 1969.
• Wednesay Early Closing (memoir). London: Faber, 1975.

Edited

• An Anthology of Religious Verse: Designed for the time. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books, 1942.
• The Lake District: An anthology. London: R. Hale, 1977.

Daily Poetry Readings -163- Rising Five by Norman Nicholson read by Dr Iain McGilchrist

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.

See also

• List of British poets

References

Fonds

Nicholson's papers are in the John Rylands University Library, Manchester.

External links

Poems

• "Sea to the West"
• "Cleator Moor"

Audio / video

• Norman Nicholson (1914-1987) at The Poetry Archive
• Five Nicholson poems (one previously unpublished) read by Neil Curry

Books

• Norman Nicholson at Amazon.com

About

• Nicholson in Millom, BBC
• Norman Nicholson Society Official webpage
• Norman Nicholson at Poets' Graves

Etc.

• Location of Nicholson's house
• Official Millom website