Joseph Mitchell (writer) facts for kids

Joseph Quincy Mitchell (born July 27, 1908 – died May 24, 1996) was an American writer. He was famous for his true stories, called creative nonfiction, which he published in The New Yorker magazine. His writing often focused on interesting people and events, especially in New York City. He showed how everyday life could be special.

Joseph Mitchell's Life Story

Early Years

Joseph Mitchell was born on July 27, 1908, on his grandfather's farm near Fairmont, North Carolina. His parents were Averette Nance and Elizabeth Amanda Parker Mitchell. He had five younger brothers and sisters. His father was a farmer who grew cotton and tobacco. He wanted Joseph to take over the family farm one day.

But Joseph was an adventurous child. He loved nature and spent a lot of time climbing trees. He also enjoyed exploring the swamps near his home. He once said that the water and everything in it fascinated him.

Education and Moving to New York

In 1925, Joseph left home to go to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He studied journalism and was good at subjects like history, language, and literature. He also wrote for the school's magazine and newspaper as a sports reporter.

He wasn't good at math, so he didn't finish his degree. In 1929, he decided to move to New York City.

Family Life

On February 27, 1932, Joseph married Therese Jacobsen, who was a reporter and photographer. They were married until she passed away in 1980. They had two daughters named Nora and Elizabeth. His family remembered him as a caring father and husband.

Later Years and Passing

Joseph Mitchell faced challenges with his mood throughout his life. From 1964 until he died in 1996, he went to his office every day but didn't publish new stories. He did write many pages for a memoir, which is a book about his own life.

In 1995, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. The cancer spread, and he passed away on May 24, 1996, in New York City. He was buried next to his wife in Fairmont, North Carolina. On his gravestone, his daughters put a line from a poem by Shakespeare that he loved.

Joseph Mitchell's Writing Career

Joseph Mitchell arrived in New York City in 1929, hoping to become a political reporter. He worked for newspapers like The World and the New York Herald Tribune. He started by covering crime, then moved on to interviews and stories about interesting people.

In 1931, he took a break to work on a ship that sailed to Russia. He returned to journalism later that year. In 1938, he was hired by The New Yorker magazine. He stayed with the magazine until he died in 1996.

His book Up in the Old Hotel collects his best stories from The New Yorker. Another book, My Ears Are Bent, has his earlier newspaper writings. His last book, Joe Gould's Secret (1964), was about a unique person named Joe Gould who lived in Greenwich Village.

Mitchell was also involved in several groups. He helped start the South Street Seaport Museum and served on the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Main Themes in Joseph Mitchell's Work

Focusing on Unique Characters

Joseph Mitchell often wrote about everyday people, especially those in New York City who might be overlooked. He called them "underdog characters." For example, he wrote a famous article called "Mazie" for The New Yorker.

"Mazie" was about a woman named Mazie P. Gordon. She worked in a ticket booth at The Venice theater. Mitchell's detailed reporting made Mazie a well-known character. He observed her closely and included her exact words. Critics thought Mazie was like Mitchell himself because she remembered small details and cared about people others didn't notice.

Mazie was tough and honest. A police detective once said she had "the roughest tongue and the softest heart." Her life mostly happened in her ticket booth, where she talked to many different people. Mitchell's way of writing about Mazie, without judging her, set a new standard for writers.

His focus on unusual characters made his nonfiction very special. In The Rivermen, he wrote about people who worked on the rivers. In Rats on the Waterfront, the main character wasn't even human! Mitchell brought these unexpected characters to life for his readers.

The Idea of Time and Change

The idea of "Mitchell time" was created to describe a special feeling in his stories. It's like a dream-like state where old historical facts and the feeling of past times fading away are mixed with what's happening right now.

A great example of "Mitchell time" is in his story "Mr. Hunter's Grave". This story shows how many different time periods seem to exist in one small place.

Studying Places and Landscapes

Even though Joseph Mitchell was born in North Carolina, most of his writing was about New York City. He brought a unique style to reporting about the city, influenced by his Southern background. He was known for accepting "people on their own terms."

He started as a police reporter in Brooklyn. Later, when he worked in Harlem, he began to truly love New York City and its people. Many experts say his 1959 collection, The Bottom of the Harbor, is his best work about New York. In this book, he writes about not only the unique people but also the unique places, like the Fulton Fish Market.

For example, "Dragger Captain" is a story about an old fisherman who supplies the Fulton Fish Market. Mitchell's choice of characters in The Bottom of the Harbor helped him show New York in his special way. The people he wrote about were often older men who remembered the city's history.

Mitchell also loved to visit cemeteries, which inspired some of his articles. He found wildflowers in these old graveyards around New York City. He often walked around the city, noticing everything. Many of his stories came from his magical walks through New York.

Famous Works by Joseph Mitchell

"Up in the Old Hotel"

In his story "Up in the Old Hotel," Joseph Mitchell explores the Fulton Fish Market in New York. He focuses on a restaurant called Sloppy Louie's and its owner, Louie. Mitchell describes Louie's personality before they go up an old, unused elevator shaft to explore an abandoned hotel space.

Louie was an Italian immigrant who worked in restaurants for years. After the 1929 stock market crash, he was able to buy the building that became his restaurant. It wasn't fancy, but it was near the market and did well. Louie loved trying new fish dishes, and his restaurant became a place to taste new seafood. He was a humble and polite man who worked alongside his employees. He kept good relationships with his regular customers, like Mitchell, and with the fishermen.

The story isn't just about Louie or his restaurant. It's about the old elevator shaft that Louie had never used. One day, Louie told Mitchell he might need more tables upstairs. Mitchell pointed out the four empty floors above them. Louie explained that only the first two floors had stairs, and the rest of the building was closed off. Mitchell was curious and agreed to go up with Louie for the first time.

The elevator and the floors above hadn't been used in decades, making it a bit risky. Once they found it was safe, they traveled up to the old hotel. On the first blocked floor, they found what was left of a fancy hotel: dressers, playing cards, hangers, and a sign for a reading room. Mitchell found the place sad, and they decided to leave without going to the floor above.

This story shows Mitchell's ideas about time passing and how New York, and the world, were changing.

"Mr. Hunter's Grave"

"Mr. Hunter's Grave" was published in The New Yorker on September 22, 1956. It became one of Mitchell's most successful articles. The story is about Joseph Mitchell's meeting with an African-American man named George Hunter. Mr. Hunter lived in Sandy Ground, a Black community on Staten Island, which is known as the oldest free Black community in the United States.

The article begins with Mitchell feeling stressed. He packs sandwiches and goes to Staten Island to explore cemeteries. He describes several graveyards he enjoys walking through. He then finds a wildflower that catches his eye near a grave. This is when he meets Mr. Brock, the church leader of the graveyard.

They talk about wildflowers, and Mr. Brock tells Mitchell about a cemetery in a Black community called Sandy Ground. He gives Mitchell the contact information for Mr. G. Hunter, who is in charge of the church there. Mitchell calls Mr. Hunter and sets up a time to meet him.

On Saturday morning, Mitchell arrives at Mr. Hunter's home. While there, Mitchell learns a lot about Sandy Ground's history. They discuss different plants and how Mr. Hunter's mother believed some roots had healing powers. They also talk about Mr. Hunter's house and his dislike for flies. The community of Sandy Ground started because people wanted to harvest oysters.

On their way to the graveyard, Mitchell learns more about Mr. Hunter's family. Mr. Hunter's mother was born into slavery in Virginia. After slavery ended, she moved to Brooklyn, married, and later moved to Sandy Ground to work with oysters. Mr. Hunter also shares that he was married twice and lost both his wives, and that his son had also passed away.

Inside the cemetery, they look at different graves. Mr. Hunter tells short life stories about the people buried there. They eventually reach Mr. Hunter's own burial plot. He explains emotionally that he won't be buried there due to a mistake. He then shows Mitchell where he will actually be buried, saying, "Ah, well, (…), it won’t make any difference."

After this article was published, some questions arose about Mitchell's writing. A book about his life suggested that some parts of his articles were made up or that the timelines were shortened. This surprised many readers and other journalists who admired his work.

"Dragger Captain"

In January 1947, "Dragger Captain" appeared in The New Yorker in two parts. In this story, Mitchell talks to and follows Ellery Thompson, a 47-year-old captain of a fishing boat called the Eleanor. The Eleanor works out of Stonington port in Connecticut. Mitchell chose Ellery Thompson because he was known as "the most skillful and the most respected" captain in the Stonington fishing fleet.

Mitchell and Captain Thompson got along well, so Mitchell was able to join Ellery on his fishing trips. As the article goes on, we learn more about Ellery as a person. We learn that his brother, Morris, died at sea while trying to make a living in bad weather. Ellery even had to search for his brother's body. This sad event made Ellery look at life "with a droll world-weariness."

But Ellery was also a kind and thoughtful man. Unlike other fishermen, he kept the best lobsters he caught for himself and his crew. When scientists from Yale University sailed with him once a month, he would fly an "old Yale pennant" on his boat. The article ends with Frank, one of Ellery's crewmates, telling an interesting old folk tale.

"Dragger Captain" was very popular. There were even rumors that a movie studio wanted to make it into a film starring Gary Cooper. Mitchell promised Thompson a share of any money from the movie. However, the rumors didn't lead to a movie, and Mitchell called it "studio commissary gossip."

Joe Gould's Secret

In Joe Gould's Secret (1965), Mitchell expanded on two earlier stories he wrote for The New Yorker. These stories were about Joe Gould, an unusual and artistic person living in New York City. After Gould passed away, Mitchell searched for a huge book Gould had claimed to be writing, called An Oral History of Our Time.

Mitchell soon found out that the book, which was supposedly nine million words long, didn't actually exist. However, he discovered that Joe Gould was a popular and important person in many groups in New York. Joe Gould's Secret not only continued Mitchell's interest in everyday heroes and the New York landscape, but it also captured the spirit of Gould's unwritten history by preserving Joe Gould's life and voice.

Gould's own writing was often rambling and about himself. However, Mitchell's writing in Joe Gould's Secret was different from his other works. Mitchell often used "I" and shared his own memories and thoughts related to the story. Also, Gould's unwritten "Oral History" was an attempt to capture the voices of ordinary people. Mitchell's entire work, especially Joe Gould's Secret, captured this same idea. His writing often focused on studying people, and he perfectly captured Joe Gould's personality.