E. Howard Harris (1876-1961) ta in oantinken
Mr. Howard Harris is rêst. Nei't wy yn dit tydskrift (maeije 1956) syn tachtichste jierdei bitocht hiene, en datselde jiers by Van Gorcum syn Literature of Friesland forskynd wie, kamen de brieven út Swansea njonkenlytsen minder faek en op 't lêst krige ik gjin andert mear. Gâns letter waerd ik wiis, dat dizze trouwe freon fan Fryslân forstoarn wie. Ont it lêst to hat er warber west. Yn 1959 kaem syn fersebondel A Swansea Boy (Poems 1918-1958) noch út, in samling ympresjes oer Swansea en neiste omkriten. Fierders hie by in algemiener foarljochtsjend boek oer Fryslân yn 'e holle:
What I am doing now is reading all Frisian matter. Then I am going to write something entitled ‘The Frisians’ and get Penguin or somebody else to take it. Of course time is a matter of urgency for me at 83, but I intend to ‘wear’ out, not ‘rust’ out. (20-XI-1959).
Yn 'e lettere brieven komt by hieltyd op dat foarnimmen werom, mar ek oare saken (sa as in Universiteit yn Fryslân) hawwe syn bilangstelling:
I have, I believe the best collection of Frisian books in Wales. So I am hoping ‘Finding the Frisians’ (tentative title) will appeal to some publisher like Batsford, who illustrate their works so splendidly. The Dutch are incredibly perverse and stubborn not to give Friesland a University. (24-XII-1959).
Ek hâldt er noch lezingen oer Fryslân:
Recently I have done some lecturing on the Frisian scene in Swansea and District. (26-IV-1960).
In Ingelsk-Frysk wurdboekje woe er ek noch oer gear, en by bipleite rounom it ynfieren fan it Frysk as fakultatyf learfak oan de Britske Universiteiten:
Perhaps you and I can get up a glossary of key words, i.e. English with the equivalent in Frisian. I envisage a booklet of (say) 50 pages. I would like Frisian to be an option for University Students in the Departments of English and German.
(30-XII-1960).
Nettsjinsteande syn hege âlderdom (dêr't er altomets hwat boartlik-skealik oer skriuwe koe) wied er sa ont it lêst to wach:
There were quite a lot of kind references to my 85th birthday in the press, and I can anticipate my obituary notice, even though like everybody else I will not be able to see it. I am still thinking out some more ideas to aid the Frisian cause. Would you believe if I got a long letter from a Yugo-Slavgovernment official, who begged me to send if I could that book I wrote about Frisian literature. It just shows how books can be ambassadors in a way. (7-VI-1961).
Dat stie yn it lêste brief dat ik fan him krigen haw. Sûnder mis hat it him deugd dien, dat syn boekje sa yndied as paedwizer oan syn doel biantwurde. Al is al dat oare dat by noch dwaen woe net ré en to stân kommen, de namme fan Howard Harris sil net ûntbrekke meije yn 'e rige fan bûtenlanners, dy't it mei Fryslân tinken wie.
KLAES DYKSTRA
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