Village Squire, 1976-11, Page 36"I'm not a very good poet. My real
strength is manipulation of prose".
Defining his genre isn't easy because he.
has written fiction, a book on ecology,
history, two travel books, poetry, and is
now working on a biography.
He's also a professional, which means he
can turn his hand to writing for TV - he
made his living freelancing for the CBC in
the 1950's - and he's a regular contributor
to magazines like the Reader's Digest.
A brief history sheds some light on his
eclectic activities.
Born in St. John's, Newfoundland
November 2, 1923, Mr. Horwood started
writing poetry at age 12 "what else would a
12 year-old write'. In his 20's he founded
Newfoundland's first literary journal,
Protocol before beginning a love -hate
relationship with political parties that's
lasted throughout his life.
In 1947 he founded and led the first
general laborers' union in Newfoundland,
and he founded and led the Building
Trades Council -of Newfoundland from 1947
to 1949. From here he jumped to politics on
a larger scale, becoming executive
assistant to Joey Smallwood during the
Campaign that brought Newfoundland into
Confederation. For two years, from 1949 to
1951, he was a member of the
Newfoundland House of Assembly for
Labrador District.
He edited at various times both the
Liberal and Conservative "propaganda
sheets", as he calls them, in Newfound-
land.
Rounding out his political writing, he
founded and edited the weekly socialist
newspaper, The Examiner in St. John's in
1959 to 1961. He has also been a political
reporter, associate editor and editor of the
editorial page for the St. John's Evening
Telegram.
His ventures into higher learning began
with a stint at teaching creative writing at
Memorial University in 1968-69. He also
"founded and courageously defended
Newfoundland's first and only free high
school, Animal Farm, in 1969 and taught
mathematics there with astonishing
success", he says.
I've taken prizes in sprinting, trouting
and writing, have driven a dog -team in the
arctic and flown a plane in Trinidad. I build
my own houses and my own boats. I'm a
dead shot who has never fired twice at a
running caribou. But I haven't hunted for a
number of years past and maybe won't
ever again.
"My real interests are people and
literature. Nothing else counts."
Those are the facts about his life. The
motivation behind what he's done weaves
another story.
"1 don't have very strong political
feelings. 1 got involved with the Liberal
Party because I felt strongly about
Newfoundland getting into Confederation.
I got involved with the Conservatives to get
the federal Liberals out of power in the
1950's - C.D. Howe and that crowd.
"At that time 1 was in the press gallery
in Ottawa. I became a temporary
Conservative in 1956 and 1957. Now I have
a mild preference for the NDP over the
other parties, but Fm not deeply wedded to
it."
34. Village Squire/November 1976
He's quite proud of two things: his
family's seafaring background, and its
generations of what you might call
pacifism, although he dislikes the term.
"None of my people have ever fought in
a war. My brother and I were of an age to
volunteer for the Second World War and
my father and his brother were of an age to
volunteer for the First World War. We
didn't."
His family tree can be traced back 10
generations of seafaring people. many of
whom were Master Mariners, a high
distinction. Attaining this rank involves
years of apprenticeship followed by a
rigorous exam. Once a sailor becomes a
Master Mariner, he can take any ship
anywhere in the world.
Harold Horwood's father broke tradition
to live his life as a businessman and is now
returned and writing books in Newfound-
land. Harold Horwood didn't go to sea
either, and the absence of ocean in London
doesn't bother him a bit.
"I could probably live here happily for
the rest of my life, but my wife couldn't.
She's from the mid -west and once she got
used to the sea, she couldn't do without
it."
When he's not talking to students this
year, Mr. Horwood will be finishing his
own work - two novels and a biography of
Captain Robert Bartlett, "the only
Canadian arctic explorer of any conse-
quence."
"The only plan I have now is to finish the
books I've already begun. Two unfinished
novels is a pretty big job. After that I've no
doubt something else will come along."
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