T. Harri Jones

Thomas Henry "Harri" Jones (21 December 1921 – 29 January 1965) was a Welsh poet and university lecturer in Britain and Australia. Born in Wales, he wrote in English.

"Thomas Henry Jones" redirects here. For the South Australian organist, see T. H. Jones.

Biography

Jones was born at Cwm Crogau, near Llanafan Fawr in Brecknockshire (Powys), Wales, the son of a navvy and a domestic worker. His grandfather was a sheepherder who forecast at Jones' birth that he would have a future as a poet.[1]

Jones studied English at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. His studies were interrupted in 1941 when, during World War II, he volunteered for the Royal Navy. Jones served until 1946. He graduated in 1947 and gained a Master of Arts degree in 1949.[2] From 1951 to 1959 he taught in Portsmouth, Hampshire and during this period wrote The Enemy in the Heart (1957).

In 1959 Jones accepted an appointment as a lecturer (senior lecturer from 1962) in English at University of Newcastle in Newcastle, New South Wales, and so emigrated to Australia. His collections of poetry, Songs of a Mad Prince and The Beast at the Door, were published in 1960 and 1963. He drowned accidentally at Newcastle in January 1965. His ashes were returned to Wales and buried at Llanafan Fawr.[1] He is commemorated by a statue in Llangammarch Wells.[3]

He was survived by his wife, Madeline Scott, and three daughters. His book The Colour of Cockcrowing was published posthumously in 1966. The Collected Poems of T. Harri Jones appeared in 1977.[2] Jones wrote poetry in English rather than Welsh. Although his father spoke Welsh and English, his mother spoke only English, and that was the language which Harri and his siblings adopted. He is considered one of the finest 20th-century Anglo-Welsh poets.[4]

Works

In Jones' own lifetime:

  • The Enemy in the Heart (1957), London: Rupert Hart-Davis
  • Songs of a Mad Prince (1960), London: Rupert Hart-Davis
  • The Beast at the Door (1963), London: Rupert Hart-Davis

Published posthumously:

  • The Colour of Cockcrowing (1966), London: Rupert Hart-Davis
  • The Enemy in the Heart (with Songs of a Mad Prince; The Beast at the Door and The Colour of Cockcrowing (1966), London: Faber and Faber
  • The Collected Poems of T. Harri Jones (1977), Gomer Press, ISBN 978-0850884128

References
  1. "T. Harri Jones". People’s Collection Wales. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  2. "Thomas Henry (Harri) Jones 1921-1965". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  3. "T. Harri Jones Commemorative Sculpture". VADS - Public Monuments and Sculpture Association. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  4. Croft, Julian. "Jones, Thomas Henry (1921–1965)". Thomas Henry Jones (1921-1965). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
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