Background
Mitchell, Richard was born on April 26, 1929 in New York City. Son of Douglas Thomas and Blanchette G. Mitchell.
(I have habitually imagined - guessed'' might be the more ...)
I have habitually imagined - guessed'' might be the more honest word - that Reason is high, very high, a lofty and distant realm where matters of the greatest import'' dwell, and where mighty minds move among them. And accordingly, I have supposed Unreason, a complete irrationality, as low as Reason is high, the very pit, the abyss, the frozen floor of hell.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419163752/?tag=2022091-20
("Author probes the nature of contemporary language and le...)
"Author probes the nature of contemporary language and levels his shaft at the illogical, the faddish, and the foolish"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316575097/?tag=2022091-20
(Twenty-odd years ago, Richard Mitchell, a professor at Ne...)
Twenty-odd years ago, Richard Mitchell, a professor at New Jersey’s Glassboro State College, set out on a quixotic pursuit: the rescue of the English language and the minds of those attached to the world by it. Donning cape and mask as “The Underground Grammarian,” Mitchell sallied forth upon his newsletter against the nonsense being spoken, written, and, indeed, encouraged by the educational establishment. (“One thing led to another,” as he tells it, “a front page piece in The Wall Street Journal, a proÞle in Time, and other such. Before it was over, The Underground Grammarian came to be, in the world of desktop printing, the Þrst publication to have subscribers on every continent except Antarctica.”) What began as a vivid catalog of ignorance and inanity in the written work of professional educators and their hapless students soon became an enterprise of most noble moment: an investigation, via mordant wit and Þerce intelligence, of “what we might usefully decide to mean by ‘education.’” The results of Mitchell’s inquiries are as stimulating today as they were when Þrst articulated. His project remains a telling explication of how, through writing, we discover thought and make knowledge. It is certainly the most drolly entertaining.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316575089/?tag=2022091-20
(“Praised by critics across the nation, The Graves of Acad...)
“Praised by critics across the nation, The Graves of Academe is Richard Mitchell's angry and brilliant tour through America's bloated public school system - whose mangled, self-serving language and policies would make Orwell wince. Stamped with vintage Mitchell wit and laced with stinging examples from The Underground Grammarian, The Graves of Academe pinpoints the historic sources of the mind-boggling "educationist'' bureaucracy and reveals why today's schools are riddled not only with illiterate students but with illiterate teachers and administrators as well. The Graves of Academe is a book of the highest importance…its slashing and irrefutable attack, not on teachers, but on the educational establishment that trains them - and which his trained us…Mr. Mitchell is invaluable. Also - he's enormously entertaining.” - Clifton Fadiman "This is one of those books that seem to make such eminent common sense that you feel compelled to read aloud selected passages to those within hearing - regardless of whether they want to listen.'' Dallas Times Herald "…makes H.L. Mencken sound like a waffler.'' Time "Mitchell is a brilliant stylist, a shrewd observer and a genuine wit.'' National Review "…a delightfully satirical book on the malaise of the American educational system, 'the professional educator,' the people who, in the eyes of the authors Richard Mitchell, are responsible for the deplorable state of American English…Amen and hallelujah, this is fine reading.'' Charleston Evening Post "…this angry, witty, and very accurate assessment of the current educational scene should be required reading for every parent who has or will have children in what Mitchell calls 'The Great Dismal Swamp' of public education.'' Fresno Bee "Witty, literate, thoughtful and provocative…'' Atlantic City Sunday Press "Richard Mitchell has done it again. He has loosed his noble lance of hate, fury and wit against the malignant stupidities that infest the world of education. . . . His book should be read by everyone who detests stupidity and who admires that rare virtue called common sense." --Howard Fast "Richard Mitchell is still angrily hunting down the ‘education professionals' . . . I think he's gaining on them." --Edwin Newman
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1495969983/?tag=2022091-20
(Twenty-odd years ago, Richard Mitchell, a professor at Ne...)
Twenty-odd years ago, Richard Mitchell, a professor at New Jersey’s Glassboro State College, set out on a quixotic pursuit: the rescue of the English language and the minds of those attached to the world by it. Donning cape and mask as “The Underground Grammarian,” Mitchell sallied forth upon his newsletter against the nonsense being spoken, written, and, indeed, encouraged by the educational establishment. (“One thing led to another,” as he tells it, “a front page piece in The Wall Street Journal, a proÞle in Time, and other such. Before it was over, The Underground Grammarian came to be, in the world of desktop printing, the Þrst publication to have subscribers on every continent except Antarctica.”) What began as a vivid catalog of ignorance and inanity in the written work of professional educators and their hapless students soon became an enterprise of most noble moment: an investigation, via mordant wit and Þerce intelligence, of “what we might usefully decide to mean by ‘education.’” The results of Mitchell’s inquiries are as stimulating today as they were when Þrst articulated. His project remains a telling explication of how, through writing, we discover thought and make knowledge. It is certainly the most drolly entertaining.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585790036/?tag=2022091-20
Mitchell, Richard was born on April 26, 1929 in New York City. Son of Douglas Thomas and Blanchette G. Mitchell.
Bachelor, University of the South, 1952. Doctor of Letters honorary, University of the South, 1982. Master of Arts, Syracuse University, 1961.
Doctor of Philosophy, Syracuse University, 1963.
Teacher Barlow School, Amenia, New York, 1953-1958. Assistant professor English Defiance (Ohio) College, 1961-1963. Professor English Glassboro (New Jersey) State College, from 1963.
(“Praised by critics across the nation, The Graves of Acad...)
(I have habitually imagined - guessed'' might be the more ...)
(Twenty-odd years ago, Richard Mitchell, a professor at Ne...)
(Twenty-odd years ago, Richard Mitchell, a professor at Ne...)
(Twenty-odd years ago, Richard Mitchell, a professor at Ne...)
("Author probes the nature of contemporary language and le...)
Member Phi Beta Kappa.
Married Francis McNeily, June 5, 1949. Children: Amanda, Felicity, Sonia Sophia, Daphne Constance.