From Our Editors
One of the all-time classics of Canadian
literature, Who Has Seen the
Wind has enchanted readers for decades with its
powerful story of a boy's childhood in the prairies. Young Brian,
with a youthful spirit both innocent and questioning, observes the
social rituals of a small town and their contrast with the primal
force of nature. Both humourous and tragic, and infused throughout
with an evocative sense of prairie life, W.O. Mitchell's tale
remains an unforgettable Canadian story.
From the Publisher
When W.O. Mitchell died in 1998 he was described as "Canada''s
best-loved writer." Every commentator agreed that his best - and
his best-loved - book was Who Has Seen the Wind. Since it
was first published in 1947, this book has sold almost a million
copies in Canada.
As we enter the world of four-year-old Brian O'Connal, his father
the druggist, his Uncle Sean, his mother, and his formidable Scotch
grandmother ("she belshes…a lot"), it soon becomes clear that this
is no ordinary book. As we watch Brian grow up, the prairie and its
surprising inhabitants like the Ben and Saint Sammy - and the rich
variety of small-town characters - become unforgettable. This book
will be a delightful surprise for all those who are aware of it,
but have never quite got around to reading it, till now.
About the Author
W.O. Mitchell, the only Canadian author
recognizable by initials alone, was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan
in 1914. Educated at the University of Manitoba, he lived most of
his life in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Alberta, where for many
years he was the most renowned resident in High River. He and his
wife, Merna, subsequently moved to Calgary.
During a very varied career Bill Mitchell travelled widely and was
everything from a Depression hobo to the fiction editor of
Maclean's. A gifted teacher, he was visiting
professor at the University of Windsor for several years, and a
creative writing instructor at the Banff Centre for many
summers.
His best-loved book is Who Has Seen the Wind. Since its
publication in 1947 it has sold over half a million copies in
Canada alone, and is hailed as the greatest Canadian book on
boyhood. The classic edition, illustrated by William Kurelek,
became a bestseller in 1991. Complementing that book is his 1981
best-seller How I Spent My Summer Holidays, hailed by some
critics as his finest novel, although Since Daisy Creek
(1984) and Ladybug, Ladybug…(1988), Roses Are
Difficult Here (1990), For Art''s Sake (1992) and
The Black Bonspiel of Willie MacCrimmon (1993),
illustrated by Wesley W. Bates, were also well-received
best-sellers. Besides The Kite (1962) and The
Vanishing Point (1973), he was also noted for his two
collections of short stories, Jake and the Kid (1962) and
According to Jake and the Kid (1989). Based on the
legendary CBC radio Series, both classic story collections won the
Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.
His last book, An Evening with W.O. Mitchell, contains his
most popular performance pieces, and concludes with "The Poetry of
Life", the lecture that he delivered from a wheelchair to The
Writers' Union Conference in Winnipeg in 1996.
A noted performer of his own work, W.O. Mitchell recorded cassette
versions of both Who Has Seen the Wind and According
to Jake and the Kid, while a selection of pieces from An
Evening with W.O. Mitchell, performed by W.O., is also
available on cassette.
Our novelist and script-writer was also a successful playwright
whose five plays are included in the collection entitled
Dramatic W.O. Mitchell. He was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada in 1973, and was an honorary member of the Privy
Council. He was the subject of a National Film Board documentary,
and in 1994 he was awarded the Writers Guild of Alberta Golden Pen
Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 1996 the City of Calgary named
its book prize in his honour. He was, in Pierre Berton's words, "an
original."
W.O. Mitchell died in February 1998 at his home in Calgary.
Trade Paperback
392 Pages, 5.5 x 8.46 x 1.02 in
September 16, 2000
McClelland & Stewart
English
0771061110
9780771061110