Stephen Mitchell (translator)


Stephen Mitchell is a poet, translator, scholar, and anthologist. Born in Brooklyn, Mitchell is known for his translations and adaptions of works including the Tao Te Ching, the Hebrew Bible's book of Psalms, the Epic of Gilgamesh, works of Rainer Maria Rilke, and some Christian texts.
WWW stephenmitchellbooks.com

Education

Stephen Mitchell was born to a Jewish family, educated at Poly Prep, Amherst College, the University of Paris, and Yale University, and "de-educated" through intensive Zen practice. He studied for years with Zen master Seungsahn and for years with Robert Baker Aitken Rōshi.

Career

Mitchell's translations and adaptions include the Tao Te Ching, which has sold over a million copies, Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey, The Gospel According to Jesus, the Bhagavad Gita, the Book of Job, 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 century has produced", his Gilgamesh was runner-up for the first annual Quill Award for poetry, and his Iliad was one of The New Yorkers Favorite Books of 2011.
He is also the coauthor of three of his wife Byron Katie'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. Additionally, he wrote a reimagining of the Christian Nativity story entitled The First Christmas.

Personal life

Mitchell is married to Byron Katie, founder and promoter of the self-inquiry method "The Work".

Books

Poetry

  • Parables and Portraits, HarperCollins, 1990,

Fiction

  • The First Christmas, St. Martin's Essentials, 2021,
  • Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness, St. Martin's Essentials, 2019,
  • The Frog Prince: A Fairy Tale for Consenting Adults, Harmony Books, 1999,
  • Meetings with the Archangel: A Comedy of the Spirit, HarperCollins, 1998,

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,
  • A Thousand Names for Joy: Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are, Harmony Books, 2007,
  • Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life, Harmony Books, 2002,
  • The Gospel According to Jesus, Harper Perennial, 1993,

Translations and adaptations

As editor

  • Question Your Thinking, Change the World: Quotations from Byron Katie, Hay House, 2007,
  • The Essence of Wisdom: Words from the Masters to Illuminate the Spiritual Path, Broadway Books, 1998,
  • Bestiary: An Anthology of Poems about Animals, Frog, Ltd., 1996,
  • Into the Garden: A Wedding Anthology, HarperCollins, 1993,
  • The Enlightened Mind: An Anthology of Sacred Prose, 1991,
  • The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, HarperCollins, 1989,
  • Dropping Ashes on the Buddha: The Teaching of Zen Master Seung Sahn, Grove Press, 1976,

Children's books