W. O. Mitchell
W. O. Mitchell | |
---|---|
Born | William Ormond Mitchell March 13, 1914 Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada |
Died | February 25, 1998 Calgary, Alberta, Canada | (aged 83)
Occupation | Writer |
Nationality | Canadian |
Notable works | Who Has Seen the Wind, Jake and the Kid |
Spouse | Merna Hirth |
William Ormond Mitchell, PC OC (March 13, 1914 – February 25, 1998) was a Canadian writer and broadcaster. His "best-loved" novel is Who Has Seen the Wind (1947), which portrays life on the Canadian Prairies from the point of view of a small boy and sold almost a million copies in Canada.[1] As a broadcaster, he is known for his radio series Jake and the Kid, which aired on CBC Radio between 1950 and 1956 and was also about life on the Prairies.
Early life and career
W. O. Mitchell was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. He studied psychology and philosophy at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg and then completed his BA and a teaching certificate at the University of Alberta in 1943. While at the University of Alberta, Mitchell became a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Delta Phi chapter).
An author of novels, short stories, and plays, Mitchell is best known for his 1947 novel, Who Has Seen The Wind, which has sold close to a million copies in North America,
In 1942, while Mitchell was teaching high school, three of his short stories were published. In 1947 his first and trademark novel Who Has Seen the Wind was published to critical acclaim and commercial success. In 1948 Mitchell moved to Toronto, Ontario to become the fiction editor for Maclean's magazine. While residing in Toronto, Mitchell created Jake and the Kid, a weekly radio series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation whose 320 episodes ran from 1950 to 1956. These productions were produced by Swedish immigrant CBC Radio head, Esse W. Ljungh.
In addition to producing a large body of work, Mitchell served as professor of creative writing and writer-in-residence at several Canadian universities and was the director of the
Awards and honours
In 1973, Mitchell was made an officer of the
Mitchell has had schools named after him in Calgary (W.O. Mitchell School) and
Quotation
Canadian actor
I would walk to the end of the street and over the prairie with the clickety grasshoppers bunging in arcs ahead of me, and I could hear the hum and twang of wind in the great prairie harp of telephone wires. Standing there with the total thrust of prairie sun on my vulnerable head, I guess I learned—at a very young age—that I was mortal.[3]
List of works
Novels
- (1947) ISBN 978-0771034756)
- (1962) ISBN 978-0770422981)
- (1973) ISBN 978-0770510442)
- (1981) ISBN 978-0771061103)
- (1984) ISBN 978-0770420642)
- (1988) ISBN 978-0771060762)
- (1989) ISBN 978-0771060731)
- (1990) ISBN 978-0770425234)
- (1992) ISBN 978-0770425777)
Radio
- (1950–1956) Jake and the Kid - ran weekly on CBC Radio`
- (1951, 1965 published, 1974 play, 1993 book) The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon[4]
Stage
- (1978) Back to Beulah - won the Chalmers Award, 1976
- (1982) For Those in Peril on the Sea
Audio books
- (1997) An Evening with W.O. Mitchell - features Mitchell reading from his own work
Television
- (1977) The Magic Lie as host
- (1980) Canada Vignettes: Melvin Arbuckle, Famous Canadian as writer and narrator
- (1981) Titans as Stephen Leacock
- (1990) Road to Avonlea (1 episode - The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's) as Alexander Abraham
Notes
- ^ a b CBC Radio Canada. Book Profile: Who Has Seen the Wind. CBC Books, cbc.ca. Retrieved on: 2012-12-26
- ^ "Winnipeg School Division collection of material relating to W.O. Mitchell". University of Calgary. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ CBC Radio Canada. Found Treasures. CBC Saskatchewan, cbc.ca. Retrieved on: 2012-12-26.
- ^ W.O. Mitchell, Canadian Encyclopedia
External links
- [1] W.O. Mitchell Ltd. website (biography, books, rights)
- W.O. Mitchell Elementary School in Kanata, Ontario
- W. O. Mitchell's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Order of Canada Citation
- A Tribute to W.O. Mitchell at the University of Calgary
- An excerpt from Douglas Gibson's book, "Stories About Storytellers" on W.O. Mitchell
- W.O. Mitchell fonds (papers) at Archives and Special Collections, University of Calgary