Armand Ruffo, who was born and raised in Chapleau, has been honoured by the League of Canadian Poets with the 2016 Life Membership Award for his contributions to Canadian poetry.
In making the announcement, at its annual awards ceremony recently, the League said it was "thrilled to grant life membership to Armand Garnet Ruffo" adding that he has made a "significant contribution to poetry in Canada."
The League further explained that "life members are selected for their incredible contribution to poets and poetry in Canada and the award is presented as a mark of distinction and appreciation for special achievements." Armand now joins the ranks of the distinguished Canadian poets who have received a life membership -- one named a year.
In extending congratulations to Armand, the department of English language and literature at Queen's University where Armand is Associate Professor and Queen’s National Scholar, noted that his most recent volume, The Thunderbird Poems, is a companion to his acclaimed biography of artist Norval Morrisseau Man Changing Into Thunderbird.
In 2015, Armand became a finalist for a Governor-General's Award in the non fiction category.
Before joining the Queen's faculty, Armand taught at Carleton University in Ottawa. He has a Master's degree in literature and creative writing from the University of Windsor and an Honours degree in English from the University of Ottawa.
Born in Chapleau with roots to the Biscotasing branch of the Sagamok First Nation and the Chapleau Cree First Nation. He is a graduate of Chapleau High School, and as I have noted on previous occasions when sharing Armand's success stories, he played on the 1970-71 Midget hockey team I coached, and yes, the plaque is still on my wall. I just looked at it!
Armand's work on Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing into Thunderbird inspired Armand to write poems "reflecting the on both the works of art and the context in which Morrisseau painted them," the publisher of The Thunderbird Poems noted adding that the poems "complement the highly evocative and poetic biography, delving into Morrisseau's creative life through compressed, imagistic language, while untangling the complex and powerful threads of meaning, tradition and emotional power that resonate throughout Morrisseau's strong lines and vibrant colours (in his paintings)"
What an incredible undertaking by Armand to deal with Morrisseau's work in prose and poetry. For absolute sure, if I was a bit younger, and looking for a place to study English language and literature, I would head to Queen's University and take courses from Professor Ruffo.
But, some years ago, Armand wrote a play A Windigo Tale, which he turned into an award winning movie. It deals with the intergenerational impact of the residential school system in Canada, framed as both a mystery and a ghost story.
In a recent email Armand advised that he has new projects in the works, and commented, "Must be something in the Chapleau water." There sure must be as Liz Howard recently won the Griffin Poetry Prize for 2016, and like Armand was nominated in 2015 for the Governor-General's Award for poetry.
Congratulations! My email is mj.morris@live.ca