Armin Wiebe (born 17 June 1948) is a Canadian writer of

Russian Mennonite The Russian Mennonites (german: Russlandmennoniten it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire occasionally Ukrainian Mennonites) are a group of Mennonites who are descendants of Dutch Anabaptists who settled for abo ...

descent born in Altona,

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, best known for his humorous novels about Mennonites. Wiebe is regarded as one of the pioneers of humorous Mennonite writing in English and is known for his incorporation of Plautdietsch words within his English texts. Beginning with '' The Salvation of Yasch Siemens'', which was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour in 1984, Wiebe has published several humorous novels about Mennonites. He followed up this book with ''Murder in Gutenthal'' and ''The Second Coming of Yeeat Shpanst'', all published by

Turnstone Press Turnstone Press is a Canadian literary publisher founded in 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the oldest in Manitoba and among the most respected independent publishers in Canada. Turnstone was founded in 1976 by academics David Arnason, John Beaver, D ...

. Wiebe has also written plays and short stories about Mennonites and has published a collection of short stories entitled "Armin's Shorts'. His stage play ''The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz'' premiered to sold-out houses at

Theatre Projects Manitoba Theatre Projects Manitoba (TPM) is a professional theatre company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was founded in 1990 by playwright Harry Rintoul in response to the perceived need for a strong local professional company to provide opportunities fo ...

in April 2011. 'Wine and Little Breads' received an Honourable Mention in the 2019 Herman Voaden National Playwriting Competition sponsored by Queen's University's Dan School of Drama and Music. His novel ''Tatsea'' is a work of historic fiction, which diverges significantly from his Mennonite writing, and depicts the Dogrib people of the Canadian Subarctic in the 1700s. The book won both the

McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award The McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award is associated with the Manitoba Book Awards and was established in 1988. It is presented to the Manitoba writer whose adult English language book is judged the best written. The author receives a cash awar ...

and the

Margaret Laurence Jean Margaret Laurence (née Wemyss; July 18, 1926 – January 5, 1987) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-pr ...

Award for Fiction in 2003. Wiebe holds degrees from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

and taught creative writing at

Red River College Red River College Polytechnic (RRC Polytech) is a List of colleges in Canada, college located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the province's largest institute of applied learning and applied research, with over 200 degree, diploma, and cer ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba for twelve years.

Bibliography

* '' The Salvation of Yasch Siemens'' (1984) **''The Salvation of Yasch Siemens 35th Anniversary Turnstone Selects Edition (2019) * ''Murder in Gutenthal'' (1991) * ''Second Coming of Yeeat Shpanst'' (1995) * ''Tatsea'' (2003) * ''The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz'' (2011) * ''Armin's Shorts'' (2015) * ''Grandmother, Laughing'' (2017)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiebe, Armin 1948 births Canadian humorists Canadian male novelists Canadian Mennonites Living people Mennonite writers Mennonite humorists People from Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba Writers from Winnipeg