Biography
Mitch Capel was "born and raised" in the small town of Southern Pines, North Carolina and was introduced to the world of storytelling at a very early age by his parents and grandparents. His grandmother, Elnora Leak Capel, read "A Cabin Tale" from the Life and Works of Paul Laurence Dunbar to him when he was three years old. The rhythm of the story and the genius of Paul Laurence Dunbar was planted like a seed. Mitch and his brothers were encouraged by their parents to memorize the works of great poets to recite at church and civic events. It wasn't until he had finished college, moved back home and started working with his father in the family business that Dunbar would re-enter his life. His father, Felton Capel, shared stories of his youth and "creek talk" (a term used to describe the dialect of his hometown of Windblow) and one day gave Mitch the same Dunbar book that had been used by his grandmother. His father said, "if you love that 'creek talk', you'll love this" and he handed over the book. Mitch's father was right...the next seven years he studied that book, examining every word, every nuance, every moral and every intention of the author. After re-discovering "A Cabin Tale", Mitch started reading the story to his kids every night and eventually memorized it. He told a friend the story one day, was invited to recite it at a banquet where there were teachers in attendence, who subsequently invited him to their school. The seed that was planted twenty seven years earlier was being nourished and beginning to sprout. He developed a character, "Gran'daddy Junebug" to deliver the words because he felt a young man wouldn't be as convincing. The character is a tribute to his own grandfathers who passed when he was young, two elderly gentleman he "adopted" to fill the void and a way to pay respect to other elders. The "blossoming" was evident when Mitch's grandmother reached the point where her memory was failing her and he sat on her bed and started reciting "A Cabin Tale" at which point she start reciting with him, then laughed and said "boy, you remembered that story!" Not only did he remember, but because of his grandmother and his parents, he is now one of the most sought after entertainers in the world!
Mitch Capel is a storyteller, recording artist, poet, actor and author who has been bringing stories to life and delighting audiences mostly throughout the United States with his warmth, wit and compelling storytelling style since 1985. He is considered "the national interpreter" of poet laureate Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) and it is his voice you hear as "Paul Dunbar" at the Wright/Dunbar Interpretation Center in Dayton, Ohio. He has done "voice overs" for Dunbar on film and has memorized over 70% of Paul Laurence Dunbars' work. “Gran’daddy Junebug” has been described as “a national treasure”, “a transformer of lives”, “unexpectedly powerful” and “a word magician”...he coined the term "sto'etry" to describe his stories recited poetically. Continuing his family tradition of preserving culture and teaching through stories, "Gran'daddy Junebug" teaches personal responsibility and respect for self and others through the African oral tradition of "call and response." He utilizes audience participation to share his wisdom on being true to self, finding your right path, coping with peer pressure and always doing the best you can. The stories are developmentally appropriate for all ages, or as he likes to say, "from the day care to the rest home." He has received numerous awards for Artist of The Year from many national organizations as well as various accolades from state and local government agencies recognizing his work with youth. He is the co-founder of The National African-American Storytellers' Retreat, has been featured twice at The National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn., annually at the travelling National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference since 1988 and the Signifyin' & Testifyin' Storytelling Festival held in Minnesota. He is the official emcee at two National "Liars' Contests" and has been featured on National and International Public Radio. Mitch was the first performer to grace the stage at the newly opened National Underground Railroad and Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio and was invited back to do his production of "Christmas On The Plantation" the following December.
Mitch has produced four award-winning storytelling cassettes, three compact discs and has published a motivational children’s book entitled “The Jealous Farmer”. He recently collaborated and performed on a series of DVD's: "Jump Back, Honey Jump Back", "In Days Gone By", "Stories For Grown Folks" and "The Kings and Queens of Storytelling". His program, "W'en Dey Listed", a journey through the life of various colored soldiers in the Union army during the civil war, was premiered at the National Gallery of Art's National Teacher's Institute in Washington DC in July 2005 to rave reviews and was requested and performed twenty-three times the following February for Black History Month. His recent stage credits include "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "Driving Miss Daisy". Mitch has been married to the former Patricia Peek since 1980 and they have two sons (now grown) Christopher and Julian. His hobbies include collecting the works of Paul Laurence Dunbar, writing, landscaping and collecting art. He is also an avid golfer because he says "it was a pre-requisite for growing up in the Pinehust/Southern Pines area. I love the challenge, the beauty and tranquility that golf courses have to offer. Besides, golf is a lot like storytelling in that it teaches us valuable life lessons." "Gran'daddy Junebug" leaves his audiences with the ancient wisdom and cultural knowledge of cooperation, collective responsibility, the importance of community, shared goals, empathy and always striving for excellence. Mitch Capel studied speech and theatre at North Carolina A&T State University and Howard University, but more importantly, he is a full time honor student at the “University Of Life”.
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Many of Gran'daddy Junebug's sto'etries were written by the great poet Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906). We believe that you should know about him. Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first African-American poet to garner national critical acclaim.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872, Dunbar penned a large body of dialect poems, standard English poems, essays, novels and short stories before he died at the age of 33. His work often addressed the difficulties encountered by members of his race and the efforts of African-Americans to achieve equality in America. He was praised both by the prominent literary critics of his time and his literary contemporaries.
Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872, to Matilda and Joshua Dunbar, both natives of Kentucky. His mother was a former slave and his father had escaped from slavery and served in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and the 5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War. Matilda and Joshua had two children before separating in 1874. Matilda also had two children from a previous marriage.
The family was poor, and after Joshua left, Matilda supported her children by working in Dayton as a washerwoman. One of the families she worked for was the family of Orville and Wilbur Wright, with whom her son attended Dayton's Central High School. Though the Dunbar family had little material wealth, Matilda, always a great support to Dunbar as his literary stature grew, taught her children a love of songs and storytelling. Having heard poems read by the family she worked for when she was a slave, Matilda loved poetry and encouraged her children to read. Dunbar was inspired by his mother, and he began reciting and writing poetry as early as age 6.
Dunbar was the only African-American in his class at Dayton Central High, and while he often had difficulty finding employment because of his race, he rose to great heights in school. He was a member of the debating society, editor of the school paper and president of the school's literary society. He also wrote for Dayton community newspapers. He worked as an elevator operator in Dayton's Callahan Building until he established himself locally and nationally as a writer. He published an African-American newsletter in Dayton, the Dayton Tattler, with help from the Wright brothers.
His first public reading was on his birthday in 1892. A former teacher arranged for him to give the welcoming address to the Western Association of Writers when the organization met in Dayton. James Newton Matthews became a friend of Dunbar's and wrote to an Illinois paper praising Dunbar's work. The letter was reprinted in several papers across the country, and the accolade drew regional attention to Dunbar; James Whitcomb Riley, a poet whose works were written almost entirely in dialect, read Matthew's letter and acquainted himself with Dunbar's work. With literary figures beginning to take notice, Dunbar decided to publish a book of poems. Oak and Ivy, his first collection, was published in 1892.
Though his book was received well locally, Dunbar still had to work as an elevator operator to help pay off his debt to his publisher. He sold his book for a dollar to people who rode the elevator. As more people came in contact with his work, however, his reputation spread. In 1893, he was invited to recite at the World's Fair, where he met Frederick Douglass, the renowned abolitionist who rose from slavery to political and literary prominence in America. Douglass called Dunbar "the most promising young colored man in America."
Dunbar moved to Toledo, Ohio, in 1895, with help from attorney Charles A. Thatcher and psychiatrist Henry A. Tobey. Both were fans of Dunbar's work, and they arranged for him to recite his poems at local libraries and literary gatherings. Tobey and Thatcher also funded the publication of Dunbar's second book, Majors and Minors.
It was Dunbar's second book that propelled him to national fame. William Dean Howells, a novelist and widely respected literary critic who edited Harper's Weekly, praised Dunbar's book in one of his weekly columns and launched Dunbar's name into the most respected literary circles across the country. A New York publishing firm, Dodd Mead and Co., combined Dunbar's first two books and published them as Lyrics of a Lowly Life. The book included an introduction written by Howells. In 1897, Dunbar traveled to England to recite his works on the London literary circuit. His national fame had spilled across the Atlantic.
After returning from England, Dunbar married Alice Ruth Moore, a young writer, teacher and proponent of racial and gender equality who had a master's degree from Cornell University. Dunbar took a job at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. He found the work tiresome, however, and it is believed the library's dust contributed to his worsening case of tuberculosis. He worked there for only a year before quitting to write and recite full time.
In 1902, Dunbar and his wife separated. Depression stemming from the end of his marriage and declining health drove him to a dependence on alcohol, which further damaged his health. He continued to write, however. He ultimately produced 12 books of poetry, four books of short stories, a play and five novels. His work appeared in Harper's Weekly, the Sunday Evening Post, the Denver Post, Current Literature and a number of other magazines and journals. He traveled to Colorado and visited his half-brother in Chicago before returning to his mother in Dayton in 1904. He died there on Feb. 9, 1906.
This bio is from the University of Dayton, Ohio.