Stephen Mitchell (born 1943 in
Brooklyn, New York ) is a poet, translator, scholar, and anthologist. He is best known for his translations and adaptions of works including the
Tao Te Ching , the
Epic of Gilgamesh , works of
Rainer Maria Rilke , and
Christian texts.
[1]
Education
Stephen Mitchell was born to a Jewish family, educated at
Amherst College ,
[2] the
University of Paris ,
[2] and
Yale University ,
[2] and "de-educated" through intensive
Zen practice.
[3] He studied for four and a half years with Zen master
Seungsahn and for two and a half years with
Robert Baker Aitken , Rōshi.
Career
Mitchell's translations and adaptions include the
Tao Te Ching ,
[4] which has sold over a million copies,
Gilgamesh ,
[5] The
Iliad ,
[1]
[6]
[7]
[8] The
Odyssey ,
[9] The Gospel According to Jesus ,
Bhagavad Gita ,
[10] The
Book of Job ,
[11] The Second Book of the Tao , and The Selected Poetry of
Rainer Maria Rilke . He twice won the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets. His Selected Rilke has been called “the most beautiful group of poetic translations [the twentieth] century has produced” (Chicago Tribune ), his Gilgamesh was runner-up for the first annual Quill award for poetry, and his Iliad was one of the New Yorker ' s Favorite Books of 2011.
He is also coauthor of three of his wife's bestselling books: Loving What Is , A Thousand Names for Joy , and A Mind at Home with Itself . His 2019 book,
Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness , is a
Zen -inflected
midrash on the Joseph story from the Book of Genesis. The First Christmas is a reimagining of the
Nativity story .
Personal life
Mitchell is married to
Byron Katie , founder and promoter of the self-inquiry method 'The Work.'
[12]
Books
Poetry
Fiction
The First Christmas , St. Martin's Essentials, 2021,
ISBN
978-1-250-79069-9
Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness , St. Martin's Essentials, 2019,
ISBN
978-1-250-23989-1
The Frog Prince: A Fairy Tale for Consenting Adults , Harmony Books, 1999,
ISBN
0-609-60545-3
Meetings with the Archangel: A Comedy of the Spirit , HarperCollins, 1998,
ISBN
0-06-018245-8
Nonfiction
A Mind at Home with Itself: How Asking Four Questions Can Free Your Mind, Open Your Heart, and Turn Your World Around , by Byron Katie with Stephen Mitchell, HarperOne, 2017,
ISBN
0062651609
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
1-4000-4537-1
The Gospel According to Jesus , Harper Perennial, 1993,
ISBN
0-06-092321-0
Translations and adaptations
Beowulf , Yale University Press, October, 2017,
ISBN
978-0-3002-2888-5
The Odyssey , Atria Books (Simon & Schuster), 2013,
ISBN
978-1-4516-7417-0
The Iliad , Free Press, 2011,
ISBN
978-1-4391-6337-5
The Second Book of the Tao , Penguin Press, 2009,
ISBN
1-59420-203-6
Gilgamesh : A New English Version , Free Press, 2004,
ISBN
0-7432-6169-0
Bhagavad Gita : A New Translation , Harmony Books, 2002,
ISBN
0-609-81034-0
Real Power: Business Lessons from the Tao Te Ching (with James A. Autry), Riverhead Books, 1998,
ISBN
1-57322-089-2
Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon: Selected Poems of
Pablo 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 Rilke , Modern Library, 1995, 0-67-960161-9
A Book of
Psalms : 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
0-520-20539-1
Tao Te Ching , 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
0-7112-1278-3
The Book of Job , Harper Perennial, 1992,
ISBN
0-06-096959-8
The Selected Poetry of
Yehuda Amichai (with
Chana Bloch ), University of California Press, 1996,
ISBN
0-520-20538-3
The Sonnets to Orpheus by
Rainer Maria Rilke , Simon & Schuster, 1985,
ISBN
0-671-55708-4
The Lay of the Love and Death of Cornet Christoph Rilke by
Rainer Maria Rilke , Graywolf Press, 1985,
ISBN
0-910457-02-6
Letters to a Young Poet by
Rainer Maria Rilke , Random House, 1984,
ISBN
0-394-74104-8
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by
Rainer Maria Rilke , Random House, 1983,
ISBN
0-679-73245-4
The Selected Poetry of
Rainer Maria Rilke , Random House 1982,
ISBN
0-394-52434-9 , Vintage, 1989,
ISBN
0-679-72201-7
"Tao Te King", Lao Tseu,
Synchronique Editions , 2008
"Tao Te King, Un Voyage Illustré", Lao Tseu,
Synchronique Editions , 2008
"Tao Te King", édition Poche, Lao Tseu,
Synchronique Editions , 2012
"Gilgamesh, la quête de l'immortalité", traducteur français Aurélien Clause,
Synchronique Editions , 2013
As editor
Question Your Thinking, Change the World: Quotations from Byron Katie , Hay House, 2007,
ISBN
1-4019-1730-5
The Essence of Wisdom: Words from the Masters to Illuminate the Spiritual Path , Broadway Books, 1998,
ISBN
0-7679-0305-6
Bestiary: An Anthology of Poems about Animals , Frog, Ltd., 1996,
ISBN
1-883319-48-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 Sahn , Grove Press, 1976,
ISBN
0-8021-3052-6
Children's books
The Ugly Duckling , by
Hans Christian Andersen (illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher), Candlewick Press, 2007,
ISBN
978-0-7636-2159-9
Iron Hans: A Grimms’ Fairy Tale (illustrated by Matt Tavares), Candlewick Press, 2007,
ISBN
0-7636-2160-9
Genies, Meanies, and Magic Rings: Three Tales from the Arabian Nights (illustrated by Tom Pohrt), Walker & Co., 2007,
ISBN
0-8027-9639-7
The Tinderbox , by
Hans Christian Andersen (illustrated by
Bagram Ibatoulline ), Candlewick Press, 2007,
ISBN
0-7636-2078-5
The Wishing Bone and Other Poems (illustrated by Tom Pohrt), Candlewick Press, 2003,
ISBN
0-7636-1118-2
The Nightingale , by
Hans Christian Andersen (illustrated by
Bagram Ibatoulline ), Candlewick Press, 2002,
ISBN
0-7636-1521-8
Jesus : What He Really Said and Did , Harpertempest 2002,
ISBN
0-06-449009-2
The Creation (illustrated by Ori Sherman), Dial Books, 1990,
ISBN
0-8037-0618-9
References
^
a
b
"It's Not All Greek to Him" . The Wall Street Journal. September 20, 2011. Archived from
the original on October 25, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013 .
^
a
b
c
" "About the Author" HarperCollins Publisher " . www.harpercollins.com . Retrieved October 22, 2013 .
^ Ezrahi, Sidra (January 2, 2020).
"Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness" . ttikkun.com . Retrieved May 27, 2021 .
^ Mitchell, Stephen (1988).
Tao Te Ching: A New English Version . New York: HarperCollins.
ISBN
9780061142666 .
^
" 'Gilgamesh': The Iraq War, 2500 B.C." The New York Times . Retrieved 2013-10-22 .
^
"Conversation: Stephen Mitchell, Author of the New Translation of Homer's 'The Iliad' " . NPR: National Public Radio. Archived from
the original on 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2013-10-22 .
^ Mendelsohn, Daniel (October 8, 2013).
"What Do You Look for in Modern Translation?" . The New York Times .
^ McAllister, Sue (October 12, 2011).
"Back story: 'Iliad' translator Stephen Mitchell" . San Jose Mercury News . Retrieved 2013-10-22 .
^ Homer (September 23, 2013).
"The Death of Argos (Homer's Odyssey, Book 17: 260-327)" . The New Yorker Magazine . Translated by Stephen Mitchell.
^
"Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation" . Publishers Weekly . February 10, 2000.
^ Gross, John (September 25, 1987).
"Books of The Times: The Book of Job" . The New York Times . Retrieved 2013-10-23 .
^
"Byron Katie" . Oprah.com . Archived from
the original on 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2013-10-22 .
External links
International National Academics Artists People Other