Editing W. O. Mitchell

{{short description|Canadian writer and radio personality (1914-1998)}}
{{Infobox writer
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| honorific_suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|OC|size=100%}}
| name         = W. O. Mitchell
| image        = William Ormond Mitchell.jpg
| imagesize    =
| alt          =
| caption      =
| pseudonym    =
| birth_name    = William Ormond Mitchell
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1914|03|13}}
| birth_place   = [[Weyburn]], [[Saskatchewan]], Canada
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1998|02|25|1914|03|13}}
| death_place   = [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]], Canada
| occupation   = Writer
| education    =
| alma_mater   =
| period       =
| genre        =
| subject      =
| movement     =
| notableworks = ''[[Who Has Seen the Wind (novel)|Who Has Seen the Wind]]'', ''[[Jake and the Kid]]''
| spouse       = Merna Hirth
| partner      = 
| children     =
| relatives    =
| influences   =
| influenced   =
| awards       =
| signature    =
| website      =
| portaldisp   =
}}
{{About|the writer|the politician|William O. Mitchell|other people|William Mitchell (disambiguation){{!}}William Mitchell}}
'''William Ormond Mitchell''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|OC}} (March 13, 1914 &ndash; February 25, 1998) was a Canadian writer and broadcaster. His "best-loved" novel is ''[[Who Has Seen the Wind (novel)|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.<ref name = CBCbooks>CBC Radio Canada. [http://www.cbc.ca/books/booksandauthors/2012/10/who-has-seen-the-wind.html Book Profile: Who Has Seen the Wind]. CBC Books, cbc.ca. Retrieved on: 2012-12-26</ref> 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 [[Bachelor of Arts|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,<ref name = CBCbooks/> and the radio series and later a collection of short stories 1961, ''[[Jake and the Kid]]'', which subsequently won the [[Stephen Leacock Award]]. Both of these portray life on the Canadian Prairies where he grew up in the early part of the 20th century. He has often been called the [[Mark Twain]] of Canada for his vivid tales of young boys' adventures.

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 [[Banff Centre]]'s writing division. In 1974 he returned to Winnipeg, where he served a term as Writer in Residence at the [[Winnipeg School Division]] No.1 and was given an honorary doctorate by [[Brandon University]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Winnipeg School Division collection of material relating to W.O. Mitchell|publisher=University of Calgary|url=https://searcharchives.ucalgary.ca/index.php/winnipeg-school-division-no-1-collection-of-material-relating-to-w-o-mitchell|accessdate=March 4, 2021}}</ref> Mitchell spent his later years in [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]], dying there in 1998.

==Awards and honours==
In 1973, Mitchell was made an officer of the [[Order of Canada]]. The list of other honours Mitchell has received includes honorary doctorates from five Canadian universities and being sworn in as a Member of the [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada]] on November 5, 1992. In 2000, Mitchell was honoured by the government of Canada with his image on a postage stamp.

Mitchell has had schools named after him in Calgary ([https://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/womitchell/about-us/school/pages/default.aspx# W.O. Mitchell School]) and [[Kanata, Ontario]] ([[W. O. Mitchell Elementary School]]).

==Quotation==
Canadian actor [[Donald Sutherland]] quoted the following excerpt from ''Who Has Seen the Wind'' at the [[2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony|opening ceremony]] of the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] in [[Vancouver, British Columbia]], Canada.

{{quote|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.<ref>CBC Radio Canada. [http://www.cbc.ca/soundxchange/episodes/2011/09/24/found-treasure/ Found Treasures]. CBC Saskatchewan, cbc.ca. Retrieved on: 2012-12-26.</ref>}}

==List of works==

===Novels===
*(1947) ''[[Who Has Seen the Wind (novel)|Who Has Seen the Wind]]'' ({{ISBN|978-0771034756}})
*(1962) ''[[The Kite (novel)|The Kite]]'' ({{ISBN|978-0770422981}})
*(1973) ''[[The Vanishing Point]]'' ({{ISBN|978-0770510442}})
*(1981) ''[[How I Spent My Summer Holidays]]'' ({{ISBN|978-0771061103}})
*(1984) ''[[Since Daisy Creek]]'' ({{ISBN|978-0770420642}})
*(1988) ''[[Ladybug, Ladybug (novel)|Ladybug, Ladybug]]'' ({{ISBN|978-0771060762}})
*(1989) ''[[According to Jake and the Kid]]'' ({{ISBN|978-0771060731}})
*(1990) ''[[Roses are Difficult Here]]'' ({{ISBN|978-0770425234}})
*(1992) ''[[For Art's Sake]]'' ({{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]]''<ref>[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/wo-mitchell/ W.O. Mitchell], Canadian Encyclopedia</ref>

===Stage===
*(1978) ''[[Back to Beulah]]'' - won the [[Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award|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 (Canadian TV series)|Titans]]'' as [[Stephen Leacock]]
*(1990) ''[[Road to Avonlea]]'' (1 episode - The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's) as Alexander Abraham

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://womitchell.ca W.O. Mitchell Ltd. website (biography, books, rights)]
*[http://womitchelles.ocdsb.ca/ W.O. Mitchell Elementary School] in Kanata, Ontario
*[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/wo-mitchell/ W. O. Mitchell's] entry in [[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]
*[https://archive.today/20070930055528/http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=1182 Order of Canada Citation]
*[https://www.ucalgary.ca/lib-old/SpecColl/mitchell/ A Tribute to W.O. Mitchell] at the University of Calgary
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140227004204/http://blog.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/blog/posts/stories-about-storytellers-w-o-mitchell/ An excerpt from Douglas Gibson's book, "Stories About Storytellers" on W.O. Mitchell]
*[http://searcharchives.ucalgary.ca/index.php/w-o-mitchell-fonds W.O. Mitchell fonds (papers)] at [https://asc.ucalgary.ca/ Archives and Special Collections], University of Calgary

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, W.O.}}
[[Category:W. O. Mitchell| ]]
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Canadian male novelists]]
[[Category:Canadian male short story writers]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:People from Weyburn]]
[[Category:University of Alberta alumni]]
[[Category:University of Manitoba alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Saskatchewan]]
[[Category:Writers from Winnipeg]]
[[Category:Writers from Calgary]]
[[Category:Stephen Leacock Award winners]]
[[Category:Canadian male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian short story writers]]