W. O. Mitchell

William Ormond Mitchell, PC , OC , D.Litt better known as W.O. Mitchell (March 13, 1914 – February 25, 1998) was a Canadian writer.

W. O. Mitchell was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. He studied psychology and philosophy at the University of Manitoba and then completed his BA and a teaching certificate at the University of Alberta in 1943. An author of novels, short stories, and plays, he is best known for his 1947 novel, "Who Has Seen The Wind", which has sold close to a million copies in Canada, 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.

While teaching high school, in 1942 three of his short stories were published and in 1947 his first and trademark novel "Who Has Seen the Wind" was published to critical acclaim and commercial success. In 1948 he moved to Toronto, Ontario to become the fiction editor for "Maclean's" magazine. 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.

In addition to producing a large body of work, Mitchell spent a great deal of time teaching others the craft of writing. He served as professor of creative writing and writer-in-residence at several Canadian universities and was the director of the Banff Center's writing division. In 1973 he was made an officer of the Order of Canada. The list of other honours he 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. He spent his later years in Calgary, Alberta, dying there in 1998.

In 2000, Mitchell was honoured by the government of Canada with his image on a postage stamp. He has had schools named after him in Calgary, Alberta and Kanata, Ontario.

His other notable works include:
*"The Kite" (1962)
*"The Devil's Instrument" (1973 play)
*"The Vanishing Point" (1973)
*"The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon" (1974 play, 1993 book)
*"Back to Beulah" (1978 play)
*"How I Spent My Summer Holidays" (1981)
*"Since Daisy Creek" (1984)
*"Ladybug, Ladybug" (1988)
*"According to Jake and the Kid (1989)
*"Roses are Difficult Here" (1990)
*"For Art's Sake" (1992)
*"An Evening with W.O. Mitchell" (1997)

External links

* [http://womitchelles.ocdsb.ca/ W.O. Mitchell Elementary School] in Kanata, Ontario
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005351 W. O. Mitchell's] entry in [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=HomePage&Params=A1 The Canadian Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=1182 Order of Canada Citation]
* [http://www.ucalgary.ca/lib-old/SpecColl/mitchell/ A Tribute to W.O. Mitchell] at the University of Calgary