Today, on the eve of the date, a meeting with Tessa West, a British writer, was held, having its aim to develop among the younger people the idea of how valuable the human life is and to foster interest in the local history and cross-cultural cooperation. Tessa West is author of the book “The Curious Mr. Howard: Legendary Prison Reformer” - the most detailed study of his life.

John Howard went down in European history as a benefactor and reformer, who dedicated his life to improvement of manners and sanitary conditions in the prisons, hospitals, quarantine institutions of different countries.

On January 19, Tessa West visited the Kherson Regional Archive, met teachers and children of Kherson grammar school №6. The writer met winners of English language competitions, members of municipal students’ parliament, students of city schools with in-depth study of English, teachers of the English language and History. The meeting took place in the specialized secondary school I-III №30. The communication was interesting, informative and exciting. The British visitor highly appreciated small performances, prepared by students of Kherson schools under the guidance of experienced teachers, for her arrival and dedicated to memory of Howard.

In the course of the meeting, participants were able to learn more about John Howard, spoke with the writer, put questions about her works. Beside Howard biography, Tessa West is author of some interesting novels and poetry albums, and also semidocumentary book “In the Wake of War”. It is a book about the life of prisoners of war in the 18th century. The novels «Companion to Owls», «The Estuary», «The Reed Flute», «As Best We Can» got a deserved recognition in Britain. Also Tessa wrote a beautiful and unusual poetry. The album «The Other Vikings» includes poetry, written about and on behalf of women, who lived in the Viking Age. And the inspiration for writing poems in the collection «Maps & Poems» was given by vintage maps.

Taking into account  the John Howard’s contribution to European society development and understanding of human rights, in Commemoration of Howard in the city of his burial, the Kherson Chamber of Commerce and Industry initiated and - in cooperation with the Kherson State University - completed translation of Tessa West’s «The Curious Mr. Howard: Legendary Prison Reformer» from English. Today, the pre-arrangements for publishing the Russian translation have entered the final stage.