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Omar Pound died on 2 March 2010.
I first met Omar in the early 1970s. He came to my office with his US lawyer, Parker Hayden, to talk about royalties due to the estate of Ezra Pound. Ezra had died in 1972 and Omar's mother, Dorothy, in 1973. Omar was very informally dressed, in stark contrast to the two lawyers sitting around the desk in compulsory tie and suit. At that time Omar was living in Cambridge with his wife, Elizabeth, and his young daughters Katherine and Oriana, whilst teaching Persian, Arabic and Islamic Studies at Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology.
Omar at first appeared to me to be a shy, quiet, self-effacing man. But I soon discovered that here was a man exuding warmth and affection, with a vast knowledge of the arts - and in particular of the literature of the ancient civilizations south and east of the Mediterranean. I also learned that he admired Ezra's long-term friend Wyndham Lewis, a name that at that time did not readily connect with my imperfectly-informed mind. This was soon to change when Omar turned up with that bundle of energy and good company, Cy Fox, who - I was informed - had from his Oxford days been Lewis's lone apostle in the wilderness. Omar and Cy told me that they were concerned about the welfare of Gladys Anne Wyndham Lewis (Froanna), who was by all accounts without sufficient means of support. Both Omar and Cy had kept in touch with Froanna, and visited her at her rented accommodation in Torquay.
By his Will, Lewis had left the copyright in his paintings and written work to Froanna. He had little else to leave. Omar and Cy were concerned that Froanna, out of necessity, was and had been granting rights to publish which were, from her point of view, very unfavourable. I believe that Omar and Cy went to see her in Torquay to discuss the long-term destination of the copyright. They found that Froanna had not made a will. There...