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{{ Use British English|date=February 2019}}
{{ Use British English|date=February 2019}}
'''Nicholas Snowdon Willey''' (1946-2011) was an [[English people|English]] poet.
'''Nicholas Snowdon Willey''' also spelt '''Nicholas Snowden Willey'''<ref name="Open Library">{{cite web | url=https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL2231211A/Nicholas_Snowden_Willey | title=Nicholas Snowden Willey | publisher=[[Open Library]] | date=August 19, 2008 | access-date=November 26, 2019}}</ref> (1946-2011) was an [[English people|English]] poet.


[[File:Nick Snowdon Willey circa 1968.tif|thumb|Portrait of Nick Snowdon Willey circa 1968]]


==Early life and education ==
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Nicholas Snowdon Willey was born in London on 21 February 1946, to [[Fred Willey]]<ref name="Tangled">{{cite news |title=Tangled, Frayed. Nicholas Willey. Willey's boy turns to poetry |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19651004/096/0013 |access-date=28 March 2019 |work=Daily Mirror |date=4 October 1965 |page=13}}</ref> and Eleanor née Snowdon. Fred Willey was [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party MP]] for [[Sunderland North]] in the [[1945 Labour Government]]. Both parents came from [[County Durham]]. He was educated at [[University College School]], Hampstead, and later at [[King Alfred School, London|King Alfred School]]. He started writing poetry at an early age, an activity which continued until his death.


⚫
In 1962 at the age of sixteen he had the first of a series of serious depressions, and spent most of that year in hospital. The illness was never to be far away throughout his life.
==Life and Death==
⚫
Nicholas Snowdon Willey was born in London on 21st February 1946, to Frederick "Fred" Willey, who was Labour Party MP for [[Sunderland North]] in the [[1945 Labour Government]], and Eleanor Snowdon. Nick disliked his Snowdon name, which he frequently omitted and which, when used, he often spelled Snowden. Both parents came from [[County Durham]]. He was educated at [[University College School]], Hampstead, and later at [[King Alfred School]]. He started writing poetry at an early age, a habit which ceased only with his death.


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==Poetry==
⚫
In 1962 at the age of sixteen he had the first of a series of serious depressions, and spend most of that year in hospital. The illness was never to be far away throughout his life.
⚫
Willey's work was included in the seminal anthology of [[beat poet]]s by [[Michael Horovitz]], ''[[Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain]]''. His work however does not (as he himself considered) lend itself usefully to definition beyond that of poetry itself. He had a profound understanding of the sonorous meaning of poetry, and was a fine reader of his work. A small number of recordings of him are held in the [[British Library]].


⚫
The earliest publication of his poetry was ''The Green Tunnel'' (Signals Press 1965),<ref name="Tangled"/><ref name="Open Library"/> a hard-back collection of twenty poems including one especially written to celebrate a London exhibition by [[Panayiotis Vassilakis|Takis]] entitled "L'espace Interieur". A pamphlet of seven poems, ''Seven Poems'' (Villiers Press 1974) also appeared, and both publications are now unobtainable. His poems also appeared regularly in a number of magazines, including ''[[Encounter (magazine)|Encounter]]'' magazine and more recently ''[[Ambit (magazine)|Ambit]]''. A collection of forty of his early poems, "Liminal Green", (Light Touch Publications 2019) with a CD of readings by Joss Wynne Evans is recently published.
⚫
In 1973, he met his future wife Sarah at a time when he had been working happily for quite a long period at the Play Library at the BBC. Upon marriage he moved from London with Sarah to a cottage in Wiltshire. There were two children of the marriage, a son, Matt, born in Bristol 1974 and a daughter, Jill born in Bath 1977. Also during that period he took a degree in Philosophy at Bristol University.


⚫
In June 1969 the [[BBC Third Programme]] transmitted a reading of Willey's poetry entitled "The Living Poet - Nicholas Willey" introduced by [[Hallam Tennyson (radio producer)|Hallam Tennyson]].
⚫
In later years Nicholas Snowdon Willey worked with deaf and blind adults, and also for several years with young adults with learning difficulties.


==Personal life==
⚫
Nicholas Snowdon Willey died of cancer on 20th November 2011.
⚫
In 1973, he met his future wife Sarah at a time when he had been working happily for quite a long period at the Play Library at the [[BBC]]. Upon marriage they moved to the [[West Country]] eventually settling in a cottage in Wiltshire. There were two children of the marriage, a son, Matt, born in Bristol 1974 and a daughter, Jane born in [[Bath, Somerset]] 1977. Also during that period he took a degree in Philosophy at [[Bristol University]].

⚫
==Poetry==


⚫
In later years Willey worked with deaf and blind adults, and also for several years with young adults with learning difficulties.
⚫
Nicholas Snowden Willey's work was included in the seminal anthology of beat poets by [[Michael Horowitz]], [[The Children of Albion]]. His work however does not (as he himself considered) lend itself usefully to definition beyond that of poetry itself. He had a profound understanding of the sonorous meaning of poetry, and was a fine reader of his work. A small number of recordings of him are held in the [[British Library]].


⚫
He died of cancer on 20 November 2011.
⚫
The earliest publication of his poetry was "The Green Tunnel" (Signals Press 1965), a hard-back collection of twenty poems including one especially written to celebrate a London exhibition by [[Takis]] entitled "L'espace Interieur". A pamphlet of seven poems, Seven Poems (Villiers Press 1974) also appeared, and both publications are now unobtainable. His poems also appeared regularly in a number of magazines, including [[Encounter Magazine]] and more recently [[Ambit Magazine]]. A collection of forty of his early poems, "Liminal Green", (Light Touch Publications 2019) with a CD of readings by Joss Wynne Evans is recently published.


== References ==
⚫
In June 1969 the BBC Third Programme transmitted a reading of Nicholas Snowden Willey's poetry entitled "The Living Poet - Nicholas Willey" hosted by Hallam Tennyson.
{{reflist}}


==External Links==
==External links==
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*[https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6016544M/The_green_tunnel openlibrary.org - The Green Tunnel]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Albion:_Poetry_of_the_Underground_in_Britain] Children of Albion
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*[https://vimeo.com/151385755 Vimeo reading "I often found in nature books the phrase.." read by Joss Wynne Evans]
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*[https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6016544M/The_green_tunnel] openlibrary.org - The Green Tunnel.
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*[https://www.facebook.com/liminalgreen/?modal=admin_todo_tour "Liminal Green" Facebook page]
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*[https://vimeo.com/151385755] Vimeo reading "I often found in nature books the phrase.." read by Joss Wynne Evans.
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*[https://www.facebook.com/liminalgreen/?modal=admin_todo_tour] "Liminal Green" Facebook page


{{Authority control}}
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{{uncategorised|date=February 2019}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willey, Nicholas}}
[[Category:20th-century English poets]]
[[Category:People educated at King Alfred School, London]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Bristol]]
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at University College School]]

Latest revision as of 23:27, 30 October 2024

Nicholas Snowdon Willey also spelt Nicholas Snowden Willey[1] (1946-2011) was an English poet.

Portrait of Nick Snowdon Willey circa 1968

Early life and education

[edit]

Nicholas Snowdon Willey was born in London on 21 February 1946, to Fred Willey[2] and Eleanor née Snowdon. Fred Willey was Labour Party MP for Sunderland North in the 1945 Labour Government. Both parents came from County Durham. He was educated at University College School, Hampstead, and later at King Alfred School. He started writing poetry at an early age, an activity which continued until his death.

In 1962 at the age of sixteen he had the first of a series of serious depressions, and spent most of that year in hospital. The illness was never to be far away throughout his life.

Poetry

[edit]

Willey's work was included in the seminal anthology of beat poets by Michael Horovitz, Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain. His work however does not (as he himself considered) lend itself usefully to definition beyond that of poetry itself. He had a profound understanding of the sonorous meaning of poetry, and was a fine reader of his work. A small number of recordings of him are held in the British Library.

The earliest publication of his poetry was The Green Tunnel (Signals Press 1965),[2][1] a hard-back collection of twenty poems including one especially written to celebrate a London exhibition by Takis entitled "L'espace Interieur". A pamphlet of seven poems, Seven Poems (Villiers Press 1974) also appeared, and both publications are now unobtainable. His poems also appeared regularly in a number of magazines, including Encounter magazine and more recently Ambit. A collection of forty of his early poems, "Liminal Green", (Light Touch Publications 2019) with a CD of readings by Joss Wynne Evans is recently published.

In June 1969 the BBC Third Programme transmitted a reading of Willey's poetry entitled "The Living Poet - Nicholas Willey" introduced by Hallam Tennyson.

Personal life

[edit]

In 1973, he met his future wife Sarah at a time when he had been working happily for quite a long period at the Play Library at the BBC. Upon marriage they moved to the West Country eventually settling in a cottage in Wiltshire. There were two children of the marriage, a son, Matt, born in Bristol 1974 and a daughter, Jane born in Bath, Somerset 1977. Also during that period he took a degree in Philosophy at Bristol University.

In later years Willey worked with deaf and blind adults, and also for several years with young adults with learning difficulties.

He died of cancer on 20 November 2011.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Nicholas Snowden Willey". Open Library. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Tangled, Frayed. Nicholas Willey. Willey's boy turns to poetry". Daily Mirror. 4 October 1965. p. 13. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
[edit]
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