Armand Garnet Ruffo is a poet, writer, filmmaker, and scholar. His books Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing Into Thunderbird (creative non-fiction) and Treaty# (poetry) were both shortlisted for Governor General’s Literary Awards. His feature film A Windigo Tale screened internationally and won Best Film at both the Native American Film Awards in San Francisco and the Dreamspeaker’s Film Festival in Edmonton. A new book of poetry, The Dialogues: the Song of Francis Pegahmagabow will be published in 2024.
“My research and writing intersect creatively with my Ojibwe heritage. In this regard, I have co-edited The Oxford Anthology of Indigenous Literature and An Anthology of Indigenous Literary Criticism in Canada. I have also published a wide range of creative texts, and my poetry has been included in over thirty anthologies, including The Best Canadian Poetry (2023) and The Best of the Best Canadian Poetry in English (2017).
Because I work in both scholarly and creative fields I strive to bring both of these elements into the classroom, especially as it relates to teaching creative writing. I believe that students who combine critical thinking with creative writing are much more likely to write meaningfully. Whatever the genre, the one criterion that holds true is to tell your story well, and to this end writers have to be fully committed to their work. This is the kind of inquiry that I enjoy bringing into the classroom.”
Indigenous cultures and literatures, Indigenous literary nationalism, transnationalism, and carceral writing, representation, genre studies, creative writing
Grey Owl: The Mystery of Archie Belaney
Treaty#
Treaty # was a finalist for the 2019 Governor General's Literary Award for poetry. Winner of the 2020 Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize.
Introduction to Indigenous Literary Criticism in Canada
Co-editor.
The Thunderbird Poems
Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing Into Thunderbird
- Coalesce. Co-author with visual artist Barry Ace. Wilfred Laurier Press (2021).
- An Anthology of Indigenous Literature in Canada, Co-editor, OUP (2020).
- “Kebsquasheshing,” “Environment” in Watch Your Head: Writers & Artists Respond to Climate Change. Coach House Books (2020).
- “Pink Mints” in Best Canadian Poetry, Tightrope Books, 2020.
- Making an Indigenous Movie: How to Carry An Elephant Up A Mountain.” Performing Turtle Island: Indigenous Theatre On The World Stage. University of Regina Press (2019).
- On The Day the World Begins Again, short film (2019).
- Sounding Thunder: The Song of Francis Pegahmagabow, libretto (2018).
- “Wallace Steven’s Memory,” Granta: Canada Issue (2017).
- “The Tap Is Dripping Memory” in The Best of the Best Canadian Poetry in English, 10th Anniversary Issue (2017).
- “The Awakening” in Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection Volume 2, AHC (2017).
- Indigenous cultures and literatures,
- Indigenous literary nationalism,
- transnationalism
- carceral writing,
- representation,
- genre studies,
- creative writing
