Armand Garnet
Ruffo
Armand Garnet Ruffo is a poet, writer, filmmaker, and scholar. His books Norval Morrisseau and Treaty# 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, was published in 2024. Ruffo draws upon his Ojibwe heritage for much of his writing and scholarly work. A professor at Queen’s University, he lives in Kingston, Ontario.
Videos
Interview with Armand Garnet Ruffo, 2020 Latner WT Poetry Prize winner (Audio)
Award History
2020 Winner
Latner Griffin Writers’ Trust Poetry PrizeJury Citation
“Armand Garnet Ruffo’s work covers poetry, scholarship, and film. His childhood fishing and hunting in the Northern Ontario bush with Ojibwe-/English-speaking relatives formed his connection to the land. Ruffo’s 1994 debut, Opening In The Sky, launched a career throughout which he has animated larger-than-life figures such as Geronimo, Grey Owl, and Norval Morrisseau while, at the same time, engaging profoundly with the daily lives of Indigenous people. His language is lucid and understated, and metaphor infuses his work with a larger understanding of the relationship of individuals to the time and place they inhabit. His most recent collection, Treaty #, demonstrates a poetic struggle with the English language and the colonial instruments which came with it. To quote Ruffo himself, his poetry aspires to ‘cut out a place for himself in the world.’ With each successive book, Ruffo has demonstrated increasing range, expertise, and grace, consolidating his claim to that place.”
— 2020 Latner WT Poetry Prize Jury (Marilyn Dumont, Susan Glickman, and Kaie Kellough)
