William Ormond Mitchell, (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 The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

from the point of view of a small boy and sold almost a million copies in Canada.CBC Radio Canada
Book Profile: Who Has Seen the Wind
CBC Books, cbc.ca. Retrieved on: 2012-12-26 As a broadcaster, he is known for his radio series ''

Jake and the Kid ''Jake and the Kid'' is a collection of short story, short stories by W. O. Mitchell, published in 1961. Many stories in the series appeared in ''Maclean's'' prior to the book's publication. The stories stem from Mitchell's long-running radio se ...

'', which aired on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

between 1950 and 1956 and was also about life on the Prairies.

Early life and career

W. O. Mitchell was born in

Weyburn Weyburn is the tenth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. The city has a population of 11,019. It is on the Souris River southeast of the provincial capital of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina and is north from the North Dakota border in the ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. He studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

and then completed his BA and a teaching certificate at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

in 1943. While at the University of Alberta, Mitchell became a brother of the

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active Colony (fraternity or sorority), colonies across No ...

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, and the radio series and later a collection of short stories 1961, ''

'', which subsequently won the

Stephen Leacock Award The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, publis ...

. 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 Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

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 Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

to become the fiction editor for ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' magazine. While residing in Toronto, Mitchell created ''Jake and the Kid'', a weekly radio series for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

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 Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta, Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the Performing arts, performing and fine arts, as well as leadership trai ...

's writing division. In 1974 he returned to Winnipeg, where he served a term as Writer in Residence at the

Winnipeg School Division The Winnipeg School Division is a school division in Winnipeg, Manitoba. With 78 schools, it is the largest of six public school divisions in Winnipeg, as well as the largest and oldest school division in Manitoba. Its schools collectively tea ...

No.1 and was given an honorary doctorate by

Brandon University Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrolment of approximately 3,375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, ...

. Mitchell spent his later years in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, dying there in 1998.

Awards and honours

In 1973, Mitchell was made an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. 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 The King's Privy Council for Canada (), sometimes called His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal advisors to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Practically, ...

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
W.O. Mitchell School
and

Kanata, Ontario Kanata (, ) is a satellite city, satellite community and former city within Ottawa, Ontario. It is located about west of the city's Downtown Ottawa, downtown core. As of 2021, the former City of Kanata had a population of 98,938, with the ...

( W. O. Mitchell Elementary School).

Quotation

Canadian actor

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

quoted the following excerpt from ''Who Has Seen the Wind'' at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada.

List of works

Novels

*(1947) '' Who Has Seen the Wind'' () *(1962) '' The Kite'' () *(1973) '' The Vanishing Point'' () *(1981) '' How I Spent My Summer Holidays'' () *(1984) '' Since Daisy Creek'' () *(1988) '' Ladybug, Ladybug'' () *(1989) '' According to Jake and the Kid'' () *(1990) ''

Roses are Difficult Here A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

'' () *(1992) ''

For Art's Sake For or FOR may refer to: English language *For, a preposition *For, a complementizer *For, a grammatical conjunction Science and technology * Fornax, a constellation * for loop, a programming language statement * Frame of reference, in physics * ...

'' ()

Radio

*(1950–1956) ''

'' - ran weekly on CBC Radio` *(1951, 1965 published, 1974 play, 1993 book) ''

The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon ''The Black Bonspiel of Wullie Maccrimmon'' is a play by Canadian author W. O. Mitchell. It was written as a radio play in 1951, but later produced for television by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1965. It has since been widely produced ...

''W.O. Mitchell
Canadian Encyclopedia

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 In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

'' as

Stephen Leacock Stephen Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...

*(1990) ''

Road to Avonlea ''Road to Avonlea'' is a Canadian television series first broadcast in Canada between January 7, 1990, and March 31, 1996, as part of the '' CBC Family Hour'' anthology series, and in the United States starting on March 5, 1990. It was created ...

'' (1 episode - The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's) as Alexander Abraham

Notes

External links

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 ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

Order of Canada CitationA Tribute to W.O. Mitchell
at the University of Calgary
An excerpt from Douglas Gibson's book, "Stories About Storytellers" on W.O. MitchellW.O. Mitchell fonds (papers)
a
Archives and Special Collections
University of Calgary {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, W.O. 1914 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers Officers of the Order of Canada Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Weyburn University of Alberta alumni University of Manitoba alumni Novelists from Saskatchewan Writers from Winnipeg Writers from Calgary Stephen Leacock Award winners Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian short story writers Novelists from Manitoba Novelists from Alberta