Cuttings, publications and printed ephemera

This series is comprised of press cuttings, photocopied cuttings, magazine and pamphlet publications, and other printed ephemera relating to NCN, his life and work. These were all collected over the years by Doreen Cornthwaite, from the earliest days of her friendship with NCN to posthumous pieces. The cuttings are taken from both Cumbrian and national newspapers, and include: interviews with NCN; articles on his life and work; pieces relating to specific events like his receipt of honorary degrees; references to radio and television programmes featuring NCN; and pieces on his posthumous reputation, including the publication of his Collected poems in 1994. There are cuttings of six obituaries, including one by Anthony Thwaite and one by William Scammell, as well as a tribute to NCN by Irvine Hunt. The cuttings also include some publications of NCN's own work which appeared during his lifetime, principally: a near complete run of the serialization of Wednesday early closing in the Barrow News; and the poem 'Comet Come' which was written for the Keleidoscope radio programme and published in the Listener. A particularly significant item is a signed copy of No star on the way back: ballads and carols (1967). Other printed material includes flyers for readings and events, as well as orders of service for NCN's funeral in June 1987, memorial service in September 1987, the dedication of the bronze head of NCN at Carlisle Cathedral in 1989, and the dedication of his Memorial Window at St George's Church in Millom in 2000. There are also one or two pieces which do not relate to NCN directly, but to friends or acquaintances of his, notably the poet and clergyman David Scott, and the poet Irvine Hunt.

Most of this material was organised by Doreen Cornthwaite into plastic wallets which were attached by treasury tags to form a kind of scrap book; the arrangement of this material is broadly chronological. The bulkier magazine publications and some cuttings were stored separately. Here, items /1-59 constitute the 'scrapbook' (reflecting its original arrangement), and /60-67 the loose material stored at the end. The material listed at /68-78 was originally stored with another large bundle of material (listed in DCN/6) but has been removed to this series because it is similar in nature, comprising printed material and cuttings.