(Credit: CBC Digital Archives – Alberta writer W.O. Mitchell on CBC Radio – July 1, 1980 – 3:16 – URL: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Digital%2BArchives/Arts%2Band%2BEntertainment/Literature/ID/1722799132/ )

(Credit: YouTube – CBC RetroBites – W.O. Mitchell: Christmas Presents (1976))

On March 13 and beyond, take a moment to remember Canadian author and dramatist W.O. (William Ormond) Mitchell (Born: March 13, 1914 at Weyburn, Saskatchewan; Died: February 25, 1998 at Calgary, Alberta), well-known for his novel Who Has Seen The Wind (1947), depicting the power of the wind on the prairies setting as seen through the perspective of a prairie boy attempting to understand life, death, and God. W.O. Mitchell influenced the writing of other Canadian authors such as Eli Mandel, Rudy Wiebe, Margaret Laurence, and Robert Kroetsch.

The publication of Who Has Seen The Wind increased immensely the recognition of W.O. Mitchell; almost one million copies of the novel have been sold in Canada. While residing in Toronto as fiction editor of Maclean’s magazine, Mitchell developed a weekly radio series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation called Jake and the Kid, leading to a spinoff collection of short stories with the same title that won'the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour in 1962. W.O. Mitchell won'the same award in 1990 for the sequel According to Jake and the Kid.

Consider the following titles about W.O. Mitchell (and his works) for borrowing from Toronto Public Library collections:

W.O.: the life of W.O. Mitchell: beginnings to Who has seen the wind 1914-1947 / Barbara Mitchell and Ormond Mitchell, 1999. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 819.32 MIT MIT

Read the review of the first part of the biography written by the son and daughter-in-law (who are both academics)  of W.O. Mitchell from Quill and Quire. 

Mitchell: the life of W.O. Mitchell : the years of fame, 1948-1998 / Barbara Mitchell and Ormond Mitchell, 2005. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 819.32 MIT MIT

Read the review of the second part of the biography written by the son and daughter-in-law (who are both academics) of W.O. Mitchell from Canadian Literature: a Quarterly of Criticism and Review.

Magic lies: the art of W.O. Mitchell / edited by Sheila Latham and David Latham, 1997. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 819.3 MIT MAG / 819.32092 MITCHELL

Read the review of Magic lies: the art of W.O. Mitchell from Canadian Literature: a Quarterly of Criticism and Review. 

Intimations of mortality: W. O. Mitchell's who has seen the wind / Dick Harrison, 1993. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 819.32 MIT HAR / 819.32092 MITCHELL / 819.13 MITCHELL  

W.O. Mitchell and his works / Dick Harrison, 1991. Book. Adult Non-Fiction. 819.3 MIT / 819.32092 MITCHELL  

Consider the following titles by W.O. Mitchell for borrowing from Toronto Public Library collections:

Who has seen the wind / W.O. Mitchell; illustrated by William Kurelek, 1976. Book. Adult Fiction. FICTION MIT

Click here for copies of the 1972 New Canadian Library edition.

Click here for copies of the 1994 Large Print edition.

Click here for copies of the 1974 French language edition: Qui a vu le vent.

Click here for copies of the Audiobook CD edition narrated by W.O. Mitchell.

Click here for copies of the Talking Book (Restricted to Print Disabled patrons) edition.

Read the review of Who Has Seen The Wind from CM (Canadian Materials) Archive: a Reviewing Journal of Canadian Materials for Young People.

Read the review of Who Has Seen The Wind from the Toronto Review of Books.

Jake and the kid / W.O. Mitchell, 1972, c1961. Book. Adult Fiction. FICTION MIT

Click here for copies of the 1997 Large Print edition.

Read the review written by Margaret Laurence of Jake and The Kid from Canadian Literature: a Quarterly of Criticism and Review – See the review section of Issue 11 (Winter 1962) in PDF format to find Margaret Laurence’s review (See pages 68-70; PDF pages 17-19).

According to Jake and the kid: a collection of new stories / W.O. Mitchell, 1989. Book. Adult Fiction. FICTION MIT / SHORT STORIES MIT

Click here for holdings of the 1989 Large Print edition.

Read the review of According to Jake and the Kid from CM (Canadian Materials) Archive: a Reviewing Journal of Canadian Materials for Young People. 

An evening with W.O. Mitchell: a collection of the author's best-loved performance pieces / W.O. Mitchell; selected and edited by Barbara and Ormond Mitchell, 1997. Book. FICTION MIT / SHORT STORIES MIT / 819.8 MIT

Click here for copies of the 2001 Audiobook CD edition written and narrated by W.O. Mitchell.

Read the review of An Evening with W.O. Mitchell: a collection of the author’s best-loved performance pieces from Books in Canada.

Read the review of An Evening with W.O. Mitchell: a collection of the author’s best-loved performance pieces from Canadian Literature: a Quarterly of Criticism and Review.

The vanishing point: a novel / W.O. Mitchell, 1973. Book. Adult Fiction, FICTION MIT

Click here for copies of the 2003 Talking Book (Restricted to Print Disabled Patrons) edition.

Read the review of The Vanishing Point from Canadian Literature: a Quarterly of Criticism and Review.