Downtown Commercial in Calgary in Calgary Metropolitan Region, Alberta — Canadas Prairie Region (North America)
W. O. Mitchell
1914-1998
| | An Alberta Champion | |
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2022
1. W. O. Mitchell Marker
William Ormond Mitchell was one of Canada's best loved storytellers. Who Has Seen the Wind (1947) has become the classic Canadian prairie novel selling almost a million copies since its publication, and Jake and the Kid became one of the most popular series in CBC radio history in the 1950s.
Born in Saskatchewan in 1914, illness at an early age meant much time pondering the "poetry of earth and sky" of his prairie surroundings, heavily influencing his later writing. Teaching creative writing was one of his passions, and he held a number of university writer-in-residencies across Canada as well as heading the creative writing program at the Banff School of Fine Arts. The recipient of numerous literary awards including the Writers' Guild of Alberta Golden Pen Award for Lifetime Achievement, he also received eleven honorary degrees, and was made an officer of the Order of Canada. W.O. died in Calgary on February 25, 1998. He will be remembered as the writer who put the prairie and foothills on the literary map of Canada.
Erected by Alberta Champions Society.
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Location. 51° 2.816′ N, 114° 4.335′ W. Marker is in Calgary, Alberta, in Calgary Metropolitan Region. It is in Downtown Commercial. It can be reached from 7 Avenue Southwest just west of 4 Street Southwest, on the right when traveling west. Marker is located between the 4 Street SW Light Rail Station and Harley Hotchkiss Gardens, on the south side of Courthouse Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 611 4 Street Southwest, Calgary AB T2P 1T1, Canada. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Alberta’s Calgary Area. It is also in the Prairies. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony and also Ruperts Land.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Maude Riley (here, next to this marker); Grant MacEwan (here, next to this marker); Arthur Ryan Smith (a few steps from this marker); Sir James Alexander Lougheed
2. Marker detail: W. O. Mitchell
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Alberta Champions
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1. W.O. Mitchell.
W.O. was awarded the Banff School of Fine Arts National Award (for a substantial and continuing contribution to the arts in Canada), the Sir Frederick Haultain Prize (for exceptional accomplishments and outstanding contributions to the people and the province of Alberta), the Great Canadian Award, and the Writers Guild of Alberta Golden Pen Award for lifetime Achievement. The University of Alberta and the University of Calgary awarded him honorary degrees. He also received nine other honorary degrees, two Stephen Leacock Awards for humour, was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1973 and was named to the Queens Privy Council in 1993.(Submitted on April 30, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. William Ormond Mitchell, PC OC.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2022
3. W. O. Mitchell Marker
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, Jake and the Kid. 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.(Submitted on April 30, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. W.O. Mitchell.
In his treatment of prairie settings and language, W.O. Mitchell depicted the Canadian West in fiction and influenced many later writers. Known and beloved across the country as both a writer and larger-than-life prairie icon, Mitchell was described in a eulogy by broadcaster Rex Murphy as a "lecturer, performer, stage raconteur, friend of a legion of fledgling writers, ... a 'presence' in the life and minds of Canadians."(Submitted on April 30, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on April 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 28, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 262 times since then and 56 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 29, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2, 3. submitted on April 30, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
