Celebrating Norman Nicholson’s Birthday
January 3rd 2023
Poetry enthusiasts will gather in Millom on Sunday (January 8th) to celebrate the 109th anniversary of the birth of Norman Nicholson, rated by many as Cumbria’s finest poet of the 20th century.
Nicholson’s lifelong home at 14 St George’s Terrace will host the first part of the celebration with a number of readings of Nicholson’s poetry by members of the Norman Nicholson Society, starting at 2pm. The event will then move to St George’s Church, site of the magnificent Nicholson Memorial Window designed by the late Christine Boyce, for further readings and discussion.
Antoinette Fawcett, editor of the Society’s newsletter ‘Comet’, said: “Nicholson’s poetry engaged with and spoke to his own times and still speaks to ours – perhaps more strongly than ever. He was conscious of the impact that humans have on nature and foresaw our own time of extreme environmental degradation. He also wrote about the societal forces that affect people’s lives and livelihoods: loss of work, loss of home, or even loss of life—the greater and smaller tragedies that affect
ordinary people.
“Mindful of the current conflict raging in the Ukraine, and of problems of food and fuel poverty in our own country, we have chosen to mark Norman’s birthday this year in such a way as to bring out his awareness of the suffering and sacrifice caused by war and other human-created cataclysms.”
More information at www.normannicholson.org
Norman Nicholson (1914-1987) was a notable poet of the 20th century who was born and lived his whole life in the same house in Millom, Cumbria. He wrote about people, places, and concepts that were familiar in his hometown but also had universal significance, making his work relevant to 21st-century audiences. The Norman Nicholson Society is currently engaged in a project to buy and renovate Nicholson’s old house in Millom. Details of the project can be found at www.normannicholsonhouse.co.uk. There is more on the work of the Society at www.normannicholson.org.
