Stephen Mitchell
Encyclopedia
Stephen Mitchell is a poet, translator, scholar, and anthologist. He is married to author Byron Katie
. They live in Ojai, California.
, the University of Paris
, and Yale University
.
“instantly makes every other rendering obsolete.” His Book of Job
has been called “magnificent.” His bestselling Tao Te Ching
, Bhagavad Gita
, and Gilgamesh
—which are not translations from the original text, but rather poetic interpretations that use existing translations into Western languages as their starting point—have also been highly praised by critics, scholars, and common readers. Gilgamesh
was Editor's Choice of The New York Times Book Review
, was selected as the Book Sense 2004 Highlight for Poetry, was a finalist for the first annual Quill Award in poetry, and was also featured as a holiday recommendation on NPR’s "All Things Considered". Mr. Mitchell is a two-time winner of the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets.
He has also written a book of poems, Parables and Portraits, and two books of fiction, Meetings with the Archangel and The Frog Prince
.
His books for young readers include The Wishing Bone, winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award as the best book of poetry for children published in the United States in 2003. Jesus: What He Really Said and Did was chosen by the American Library Association's Booklist as one of the top ten religious books for children in 2002. His rendition of Hans Christian Andersen's The Nightingale
was chosen a Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2002, New York Public Library Children's Books: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, New England Book Show-Juvenile Category Winner, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winner, and The National Council of Teachers of English 2002 Notable Children's Books.
He is coauthor of two of his wife Byron Katie’s bestselling books: Loving What Is and A Thousand Names for Joy.
He has recently published a new verse translation of Homer's Iliad
and is currently at work on the Odyssey
.
Byron Katie
Byron Kathleen Mitchell , better known as Byron Katie, born December 6, 1942,is an American speaker and author who teaches a method of self-inquiry known as "The Work of Byron Katie" or simply as "The Work."-Biography:...
. They live in Ojai, California.
Early life
Stephen Mitchell was educated at Poly Prep Country Day School, Amherst CollegeAmherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Career
Mitchell’s Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke has been called “the most beautiful group of poetic translations the twentieth century has produced.” William Arrowsmith said that his Sonnets to OrpheusSonnets to Orpheus
The Sonnets to Orpheus are a cycle of sonnets written by German-language poet Rainer Maria Rilke in 1922. He dedicated them as a memorial for Wera Ouckama Knoop , a playmate of Rilke's daughter Ruth.-Form and style:There are 55 sonnets in the sequence, divided into two sections: the first of 26...
“instantly makes every other rendering obsolete.” His Book of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
has been called “magnificent.” His bestselling Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching
The Tao Te Ching, Dao De Jing, or Daodejing , also simply referred to as the Laozi, whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi, is a Chinese classic text...
, Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
, and Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...
—which are not translations from the original text, but rather poetic interpretations that use existing translations into Western languages as their starting point—have also been highly praised by critics, scholars, and common readers. Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...
was Editor's Choice of The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, was selected as the Book Sense 2004 Highlight for Poetry, was a finalist for the first annual Quill Award in poetry, and was also featured as a holiday recommendation on NPR’s "All Things Considered". Mr. Mitchell is a two-time winner of the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets.
He has also written a book of poems, Parables and Portraits, and two books of fiction, Meetings with the Archangel and The Frog Prince
The Frog Prince
The Frog Prince can refer to the following titles:*The Frog Prince ,*"The Frog Prince" , a song by English band Keane*The Frog Prince , the soundtrack album of a British film released in 1984, featuring Enya...
.
His books for young readers include The Wishing Bone, winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award as the best book of poetry for children published in the United States in 2003. Jesus: What He Really Said and Did was chosen by the American Library Association's Booklist as one of the top ten religious books for children in 2002. His rendition of Hans Christian Andersen's The Nightingale
The Nightingale
"The Nightingale" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about an emperor who prefers the tinkling of a bejeweled mechanical bird to the song of a real nightingale...
was chosen a Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2002, New York Public Library Children's Books: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, New England Book Show-Juvenile Category Winner, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winner, and The National Council of Teachers of English 2002 Notable Children's Books.
He is coauthor of two of his wife Byron Katie’s bestselling books: Loving What Is and A Thousand Names for Joy.
He has recently published a new verse translation of Homer's Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and is currently at work on the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
.
Fiction
- The Frog Prince: A Fairy Tale for Consenting Adults, Harmony Books, 1999, ISBN 0-60-960545-3
- Meetings with the Archangel: A Comedy of the Spirit, HarperCollins, 1998, ISBN 0-06-018245-8
Nonfiction
- A Thousand Names for Joy: Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are (with Byron Katie), Harmony Books, 2007, ISBN 0-307-33923-8
- Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life (with Byron Katie), Harmony Books, 2002, ISBN 1-400-04537-1
- The Gospel According to Jesus, Harper Perennial 1993, ISBN 0-060-92321-0
Translations and adaptations
- The Iliad, Free Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1439163375
- The Second Book of the Tao, Penguin Press, 2009, ISBN 1-59-420203-2
- GilgameshGilgameshGilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...
: A New English Version, Free Press, 2004, ISBN 0-74-326169-0 - Bhagavad GitaBhagavad GitaThe ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
: A New Translation, Harmony Books, 2002, ISBN 0-60-981034-0 - Real Power: Business Lessons from the Tao Te Ching (with James A. Autry), Riverhead Books, 1998, ISBN 1-57-322089-2
- Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon: Selected Poems of Pablo NerudaPablo NerudaPablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
, HarperCollins, 1997, ISBN 0-06-018285-7 - Genesis: A New Translation of the Classic Biblical Stories, Harper Collins, 1996, ISBN 0-06-092856-5
- Ahead of All Parting: The Selected Poetry and Prose of Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria RilkeRené Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
, Modern Library, 1995, 0-67-960161-9 - A Book of PsalmsPsalmsThe Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
: Selected and Adapted from the Hebrew, Harper Perennial, 1994, ISBN 0-06-092470-5 - The Selected Poetry of Dan Pagis, University of California Press, 1996, ISBN 0-52-020539-1
- Tao Te ChingTao Te ChingThe Tao Te Ching, Dao De Jing, or Daodejing , also simply referred to as the Laozi, whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi, is a Chinese classic text...
, HarperCollins, 1988, hardcover ISBN 0-06-016001-2, paperback ISBN 0-06-016001-2, ISBN paperback P.S. edition 0-06-114266-2, pocket edition ISBN 0-06-081245-1, illustrated edition ISBN 0-71-121278-3 - The Book of Job, Harper Perennial, 1992, ISBN 0-06-096959-8
- The Selected Poetry of Yehuda AmichaiYehuda AmichaiYehuda Amichai was an Israeli poet. Amichai is considered by many, both in Israel and internationally, as Israel's greatest modern poet. He was also one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew....
(with Chana BlochChana BlochChana Bloch is an American poet, translator, and scholar. She is a professor emerita of English at Mills College in Oakland, California.-Life and work:...
), University of California Press, 1996, ISBN 0-52-020538-3 - The Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria RilkeRené Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
, Simon & Schuster, 1985, ISBN 0-67-155708-4 - The Lay of the Love and Death of Cornet Christoph Rilke by Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria RilkeRené Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
, Graywolf Press, 1985, ISBN 0-91-045702-6 - Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria RilkeRené Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
, Random House, 1984, ISBN 0-39-474104-8 - The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria RilkeRené Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
, Random House, 1983, ISBN 0-67-973245-4 - The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria RilkeRené Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
, Random House 1982, ISBN 0-39-452434-9, Vintage, 1989, ISBN 0-67-972201-7
Edited by Stephen Mitchell
- Question Your Thinking, Change the World: Quotations from Byron Katie, Hay House, 2007, ISBN 1-40-191730-2
- The Essence of Wisdom: Words from the Masters to Illuminate the Spiritual Path, Broadway Books, 1998, ISBN 0-76-790305-6
- Bestiary: An Anthology of Poems about Animals, Frog, Ltd., 1996, ISBN 1-88-331948-X
- Into the Garden: A Wedding Anthology (with Robert Hass), HarperCollins, 1993, ISBN 0-06-016919-2
- The Enlightened Mind: An Anthology of Sacred Prose, 1991, ISBN 0-06-092320-2
- The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, HarperCollins, 1989, ISBN 0-06-092053-X
- Dropping Ashes on the Buddha: The Teaching of Zen Master Seung SahnSeung SahnSeung Sahn Haeng Won Dae Soen-sa , born Dok-In Lee, was a Korean Jogye Seon master and founder of the international Kwan Um School of Zen—the largest Zen institution present in the Western world. He was the seventy-eighth teacher in his lineage...
, Grove Press, 1976, ISBN 0-80-213052-6
Children's Books
- The Ugly Duckling, by Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
(illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher), Candlewick Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0763621599 - Iron Hans: A Grimms’ Fairy Tale (illustrated by Matt Tavares), Candlewick Press, 2007, ISBN 0-76-362160-9
- Genies, Meanies, and Magic Rings: Three Tales from the Arabian Nights (illustrated by Tom Pohrt), Walker & Co., 2007, ISBN 0-80-279639-7
- The Tinderbox, by Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
(illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline), Candlewick Press, 2007, ISBN 0-76-362078-5 - The Wishing Bone and Other Poems (illustrated by Tom Pohrt), Candlewick Press, 2003, ISBN 0-76-361118-2
- The Nightingale, by Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
(illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline), Candlewick Press, 2002, ISBN 0-76-361521-8 - JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
: What He Really Said and Did, Harpertempest 2002, ISBN 0-06-449009-2 - The Creation (illustrated by Ori Sherman), Dial Books, 1990, ISBN 0-80-370618-9
External links
- Stephen Mitchell website
- Stephen Mitchell's videos on YouTube
- Interview of Mitchell from November–December 1996 Psychology TodayPsychology TodayPsychology Today is a bi-monthly magazine published in the United States. It is a psychology-based magazine about relationships, health, and related topics written for a mass audience of non-psychologists. Psychology Today was founded in 1967 and features articles on such topics as love,...
about his translation of Genesis (ads present) - Author profile
- PBS interview
- Speaking of Faith, interview with Krista Tippett
- PW interview
- Interview with Pico Iyer