Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1973-1975 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
7 cm of textual records
31 sound recordings
29 videocassettes and photographs.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Name of creator
Biographical history
Canadian writer, teacher, playwright and performer, W. O. Mitchell was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, on March 13, 1914 and died in Calgary, February 25, 1998. Mitchell spent his childhood in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, but had to move to Florida when he was 12 to aid his recovery from tuberculosis. Returning to Canada in 1931, he studied at the University of Manitoba and the University of Alberta. In 1944, after teaching for 2 years, he settled in High River, Alta, where he remained until 1968 except for 3 years as fiction editor at Maclean’s (1948-51).
After 1968 he was writer-in-residence at the Banff Centre, the University of Calgary, the University of Alberta and Massey College, Toronto and at the University Windsor from 1978-87, after which he lived in Calgary until his death. Mitchell was the director of the Writing Division, Banff Centre from 1975-85 where he developed and taught a creative writing method, he termed the messy method.
In 1947 Mitchell achieved instant recognition with the publication of his classic Who Has Seen the Wind. Allan King directed the feature film based on the novel (1977) and an edition of the book illustrated by William Kurelek was republished in 1991. Mitchell's second novel was The Kite (1962) followed by The Vanishing Point (1973), How I Spent My Summer Holidays (1981), Since Daisy Creek (1984). In 1988 he published a novel of suspense, Ladybug, Ladybug..., followed by another novel, Roses Are Difficult Here, in 1990. He also published a mystery, For Art's Sake, in 1992.
Mitchell also wrote for the stage, radio and TV.
The popular Jake and the Kid (1961) originated in stories written for Maclean's. The series ran weekly on CBC Radio 1950-56 and made Mitchell a national celebrity. The series was televised in 1961. The early radio plays The Devil's Instrument (1949) and The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon (written 1951, published 1965) were later revised as full-length plays; the latter was staged in 1979 by Theatre Calgary as were The Kite (1981) and 2 plays written for the stage, Back to Beulah (which won the Chalmers Award, 1976) and For Those in Peril on the Sea (1982). These plays were published in Dramatic W.O. Mitchell (1982). An illustrated edition of The Black Bonspiel of Willie MacCrimmon followed in 1993. Mitchell also wrote a musical, Wild Rose, in 1967. The audio book An Evening with W.O. Mitchell (1997) features the author reading from his own works in his inimitably dramatic style.
He received numerous awards and accolades for his work. In 1973 Mitchell became a Member of the Order of Canada. He was awarded several honorary degrees and received the Stephen Leacock Award for his book According to Jake and the Kid (1989). In 1992 he became an honorary Member of the Privy Council. After his death in 1998 the W.O. Mitchell Literary Prize was established for an individual who has produced a substantial body of work and who has acted as a mentor to new writers. Artifacts of W.O. Mitchell’s writing career are held and displayed by the Highwood Museum in High River, Alberta.
Archival history
Donated by Winnipeg School Division No. 1 in 1998.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Collection consists of material relating to W.O. Mitchell's term as writer-in-residence for Winnipeg School Division No. 1, September 15, 1974 - November 30, 1974. Includes samples of student papers using "Mitchell's messy method of creative writing"; professional materials consisting of videotapes of seminars on creative writing for teachers; presentations for elementary, junior high and senior high students consisting of videotapes of the presentations and questions from the students; audio and video recordings of readings by W.O. Mitchell from his own work; and audio and video recordings of W.O. Mitchell discussing theme and character in several of his own works. Textual records consist of samples of student papers, listing of the audio and video recordings and bibliography of related materials collected in a kit for use by schools in Winnipeg School Division No. 1 as well as two scrapbooks containing articles and photographs documenting W.O. Mitchell's work for the shool division. Also includes material relating to the seventy-fifth convocation of Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba, held November 9, 1974, at which Paul Hiebert, James Gray and W.O. Mitchell received honorary doctorates, particularly an audio tape of a symposium on creative writing by the three writers moderated by Brandon University chancellor Stanley Knowles, as well as photographs and newsclippings.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
No restrictions on access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Text in English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
These records are arranged and described in the W.O. Mitchell fonds.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
For additional archival material relating to W.O. Mitchell see the W.O. Mitchell fonds
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of the collection.
Note
Includes 31 sound recordings, 29 videocassettes and photographs.
Alternative identifier(s)
ckey
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Mitchell, William Ormond "W.O." (Subject)