Final Fire: A Memoir

by Michael Mitchell

See the world through a photographer’s eyes

Final Fire is a companion piece to Mitchell’s much-praised 2004 memoir, The Molly Fire, a finalist for both the Writers’ Trust Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize and the Governor General’s Award for Non-fiction, and a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year.

Nearly a half century ago, Mitchell abandoned a safe and secure academic career to become a “cowboy” with a camera and a keyboard. While he has always kept one foot planted firmly in the arts, as a working photographer his search for adventure took him through the Americas, into the High Arctic, across Europe, on to the Middle East, India, and the Far East. He photographed famous athletes, musicians, actors, politicians, revolutionaries, and more than a few criminals. The sum of these scary, strange, heartrending, and funny episodes is one man’s prescription for how to live in a bizarre and, best of all, never boring world.

It is also a book about loss. Mitchell reflects on the invention of photography and its transformative effect on world culture and pays tribute to fellow photographers who led remarkable and frequently obsessive lives.

400 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2019

About the author

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Reviews

[Koozebane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a print ARC from ECW Press as part of their ECW Insiders program. 3.5 stars.

I have not read THE MOLLY FIRE, so I don't know how that would have affected my experience of this companion piece. FINAL FIRE does seem to work as a standalone, though its nonlinear chronology takes getting used to. The many anecdotes generally avoid the name-dropping that the back cover blurb would have the reader expect (with one or two amusing exceptions), especially given Mitchell's storied career. Mitchell is honest and thought-provoking throughout, even if a few brusque-sounding observations/turns of phrase and broad-stroke generalizations sometimes detracted from my enjoyment. (To be fair, these come from the author's personal experiences, and he admits that he isn't proud of these reactions.) There aren't as many images included as one would expect (at least in the ARC); I'm particularly curious about the photo of his father in the fedora hat that apparently resulted in international acclaim and family controversy. The book really comes alive halfway through, when Mitchell delves more into his artistic processes and the nature of photography itself. The ending chapters dealing with grief and loss are affecting, even if they don't necessarily tie in seamlessly to the rest of the narrative.

[Judy Gouin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Canadian photographer, we’re coming in the dark to cut off your head.” Framed by the Sandinista revolution in action and reflections on its aftermath (“The fires of the Revolution have gone out”), the book is a meditation on Mitchell’s life and long career as a photographer in journalism, advertising and art. He has also taken obvious pleasure in the opportunity afforded by the memoir to get a few things off his chest, take revenge, make some amends, and give credit where he felt it had not been adequately given by others.

The book is constructed of anecdotes that alternate between Mitchell’s experience of the “very small island” in Georgian Bay and the fast-paced international urban world. The island is not a refuge as much as a parallel universe. Both worlds are illuminated by the differences between them. And throughout the book, the threat of death and the promise of renewal are ever present, taking turns in the foreground of observations and stories that are sometimes hilarious and sometimes deeply sad.

This is a self-portrait of an engaging and thoughtful writer and wonderful yarn-spinner. It is a pleasure to spend time with him.

[Ross Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maia Sutnik described your book as a page-turner at its launch. It's true. I made it all the way through with no loss of momentum. Not only am I getting to know you better, but also my city, the development scene I was part of, my friends and acquaintances. Scrabble-to-the-death with GJ was hysterical. 'Yeg'? Never heard of it. You was swindled.
Knowing some of the people who played a role in your life helps for sure - EL, Arnaud, etc. See them in greater depth now than I ever could have otherwise. As a late-comer to photography, first as a dealer and then as an image maker it's revealing to see that world from the point-of-view of one of its leading Canadian exponents.

[Marc Chiasson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael M's memoir has been a revelation in storytelling in bite sized pieces. He takes us on a journey back and forth through his life from childhood to old age from the perspective of a sought-after photographer and raconteur. His style of writing in fragments of memory make it suited to opening the book to any page to read. Insightful and funny. I've been carrying it everywhere with me.

[David Schatzky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A treat and a pleasure. A cornucopia of adventure and insight. Glimpses into the life, mind and perceptions of Michael Mitchell, a dynamic creative force - and some key figures in Canadian visual arts who are and have been his chums, friends and acquaintances. A unique individual reflection on life from an atypical but very Canadian character!

[Karen Mulhallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent and moving elegy on the earth, its fragility and its creatures.A sustained meditation on photography. its components, changes, and practitioners.An elegy to beauty and friendship, to love and to loss.
A long slow read, an immersion.

[Robin Bain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read Final Fire while Micheal's cherished river flowed by. Such poetry.
In addition, Micheal's insight to photography and its passage from analogue to digital was especially informative and interesting. A Great Read!