Armand Garnet Ruffo

Armand Garnet Ruffo was born in the small northern town of Chapleau, Ontario and currently resides in Ottawa, where he teaches Native literature and creative writing at Carleton University. He has previously taught creative writing at both the Banff Centre for the Arts and the En'owkin International School of Writing in Penticton, British Columbia.

A former director of the Centre for Aboriginal Education, Research and Culture, his work is strongly influenced by his Ojibway heritage. His first collection of poetry, Opening in the Sky, reveals an abiding interest in the complexities of Aboriginal identity in a multicultural society. His second book, Grey Owl: The Mystery of Archie Belaney, further 'raises difficult questions about voice and identity, aboriginal culture, human rights and the environment.' His third collection of poetry, At Geronimo's Grave, employs "Geronimo's life as a metaphor for the many abandoned native people on this continent, trapped in the slow-moving vehicle of another culture which is taking them nowhere." His latest book in progress, Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing Into Thunderbird, is a creative biography of the renowned Ojibway painter and founder of the Woodland School, Norval Morrisseau, Copper Thunderbird. In addition, he has written plays,stories and essays, which continue to appear in literary periodicals, including Red Ink, Rampike, CVII, and absinthe, and anthologies in both Canada and the United States.

Writing available online

The Storm
On Lake Titicaca
Old Story
How
How Do You Know?

Books by Armand Garnet Ruffo or containing his work

Poetry

At Geronimo's Grave, Coteau Books. [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Opening in the Sky, Theytus Books. [Buy from Amazon.ca]

Mixed Genre

Essay on Norval Morrisseau, Catalog for Morrisseau retrospective, National Gallery of Canada, February 2006
(Ad)dressing our words: Aboriginal perspectives on aboriginal literature(s), Armand Ruffo & Greg Young-Ing (Editors): Univ. Toronto Pr. [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Grey Owl: The Mystery Of Archie Belaney, Coteau Books. [Buy from Amazon.ca]: See also:; Grey Owl website; Beaver People, a film made in 1928, with Grey Owl.; Beaver Family, a 1929 film, also with Grey Owl

Plays (unpublished)

Portrait of the Artist as Indian
A Windigo Tale
Grey Owl: The Mystery of Archie Belaney
The Stone Canoe (for children)

Anthologies Containing Armand's Work

Traces in Blood, Bone and Stone: Contemporary Ojibwe Poetry, Loonfeather Press.
Tongue-Tied: The Lives of Multicultural Children in Public Schools, Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.
Without Reservation: Indigenous Erotica, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (Editor),: Kegedonce Press. [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Native poetry in Canada: A contemporary anthology, Jeannette Armstrong (Editor), Broadview Press. [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Stories Migrating Home: Anishnaabe Prose, Kimberly Blaeser (Editor): Loonfeather Press: Wisconsin
Indian Summer issue of phati'tude
Gatherings, Vol XI, Flightscape: a multi-directionaL collection of Indigenous creative works: Florene Belmore (Editor), Penticton: Theytus Books [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Looking at the Words of Our People: First Nations Analysis of Literature,: Jeannette Armstrong (Editor), Penticton: Theytus Books. [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Meltwater Anthology: 25th Anniversary Issue, The Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff Centre Press, 1998.
An Anthology of Canadian Native Literature in English,: Daniel David Moses & Terry Goldie, (Editors), Toronto: Oxford University Press [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Native Literature in Canada : From the Oral Tradition to the Present,: Penny Petrone (Editor), Oxford University Press.
Gatherings, Vol VII, Standing Ground: Strength and Solidarity Amidst Dissolving Boundaries: Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm & Jeanette Armstrong (Editors), Penticton: Theytus Books. [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Voices of the First Nations, The Senior Issues Collection,: McGraw Hill Ryerson Ltd, Toronto, Ont. 1995.
Voices from Home, Agawa Press, Ottawa, 1994.
Gatherings, Vol VI, Metamorphosis: Manifesting and Respecting Diversity in Our Transformation: Linda Jaine & Don Fiddler (Editors), Penticton: Theytus Books [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Gatherings, Vol V, Celebrating the Circle: Recognizing Women and Children in Restoring the Balance: Beth Cuthand & William George (Editors), Penticton: Theytus Books. [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Returning the Gift: Poetry and Prose from the First North American Native Writers' Festival: (Sun Tracks Books, No 29) University of Arizona Press. [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Gatherings, Vol IV, Re-Generation: Expanding The Web To Claim Our Future,: Theytus Books. [Buy from Amazon.ca]
Gatherings, Vol II, Two Faces: Unmasking the Faces of our Divided Nations,: Greg Young-Ing (Editor), Theytus Books. [Buy from Amazon.ca]

Textbooks

An Introduction to Literature, ITP Nelson Ltd, 1999.
Introduction to Literature, Harcourt Brace & Company, 1995.
Environment in Perspective, grade nine anthology, Holt, Rinehart Publishers, Toronto, 1992.

Journal Articles

"Out of the Silence: An Inquiry into the Lost and Found Work of Dawendine-Bernice Loft Winslow,": The Journal of Canadian Studies, spring, 1998.
"Why Native Literature," From Our Eyes, Vol. 2, Lakehead University, 1997.
"From Myth to Metafiction: A Narratological Analysis of Thomas King's 'The One About Coyote Going West,'": Internation Journal of Canadian Studies, Ottawa, 1995.
Poetry in Bywords, Remembered Earth, Vol. 1, Department of English,: University of Ottawa, Ont. 1995.
Poetry, Callaloo, Native American Literatures, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1994.
Short story and poetry in Writing Brings Healing Close, absinthe magazine's aboriginal issue,: Calgary, 1994.

This is an "official" site in that this page was constructed with the assistance and active collaboration of the poet, Armand Garnet Ruffo.

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