Billy-Ray Belcourt

Belcourt grew up in the community of Driftpile, Alberta. He was raised by his grandparents and began writing poetry around the age of 19.^[10]

As an undergraduate student, Belcourt studied comparative literature at the University of Alberta where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2016.^[11] While at the University of Alberta, Belcourt was actively involved as "an advocate for LGBTQ and Indigenous communities", which included serving as the Aboriginal Student Council president.^[12] He was also a Youth Facilitator with the Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN).^[4][13]

In 2015, Belcourt was selected as a recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship to study at Wadham College, Oxford University, for the 2016–2017 school year.^[14] In 2017, Belcourt graduated from Oxford University with a master's degree in women's studies. His master's thesis focused on "the role of Indigenous women in social resistance movements."^[12]

While an active writer and poet throughout his university career, Belcourt published his first book, This Wound Is a World, in 2017.^[15] This was followed by his second book in 2019: NDN Coping Mechanisms, Notes from the Field.^[16] In 2020, he released his third book, A History of My Brief Body: A Memoir, accompanied by A History of My Brief Body: Essays.^[17][18]

In 2020, Belcourt completed a PhD in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta.^[19][12][9] His research focused on what the "Indigenous paranormal" in art, poetry, and film produced by First Nations people.^[12]

In January 2020, Belcourt joined the University of British Columbia's Creative Writing Program, where he is an Associate Professor in Indigenous Creative Writing.^[20][9]

Belcourt released his first novel, A Minor Chorus, was published in 2022.^[21] It was shortlisted for the 2023 Amazon Canada First Novel Award.^[22] It was one of the shortlisted books for the 2026 edition of the Canada Reads competition, defended by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers.^[23]

• This Wound Is a World. Frontenac House. 2017. ISBN 978-1-927823-64-4.^[24]
• NDN Coping Mechanisms: Notes from the Field. House of Anansi Press. 2019. ISBN 978-1-4870-0578-8.^[16]
• A History of My Brief Body. Hamish Hamilton. 2020. ISBN 978-0-735237-79-7.^[17]
• A Minor Chorus. Hamish Hamilton. 2022. ISBN 978-0-735242-00-5.^[21]
• Coexistence. Hamish Hamilton. 2024. ISBN 978-0-735242-03-6.^[25]
• The Idea of an Entire Life. Beacon Press. 2025. ISBN 978-0-807022-40-5.^[26][27]

• "To Be Unbodied". Canadian Art. 2019-03-07.
• "Meditations on Reserve Life, Biosociality, and the Taste of Non-Sovereignty". Settler Colonial Studies. 8 (1): 1–15. January 2017.

• "The Optics of the Language: How Joi T. Arcand Looks with Words". Canadian Art. 2017-08-29.
• "Top or Bottom: How Do We Desire?". The New Inquiry. With George Dust, Kay Gabriel, and Lou Cornum. 2017-08-18.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
• "The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open". Arts Everywhere. 2017-02-08.
• "A Poltergeist Manifesto". Feral Feminisms (6): 22–32. Fall 2016.
• "Making Friends for the End of the World". GUTS. No. 6. With Maura Roberts. 2016-05-23.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
• "Can the Other of Native Studies Speak?". Decolonization. 2016-02-01.
• "Political Depression in a Time of Reconciliation". Active History. 2016-01-15.
• "The Day of the TRC Final Report: On Being in This World Without Wanting It". Rabble. 2015-12-15.

• "Bad Lover". The Journal. No. 43.4. Fall 2019.
• "Gay Incantations". Voicemail Poems. 2019-08-20.
• "What Is a Human Possibility?". The Puritan. No. 46. Summer 2019.
• "NDN Homopoetics". Academy of American Poets. 2019-01-31.
• "Cree Girl Explodes the Necropolis of Ottawa". Brick. No. 102. Winter 2019.
• "NDN Brothers". The Rumpus. 2018-11-07.
• "The Terrible Beauty of the Reserve". The Walrus. 2018-06-07.
• "What If I Never Write a Novel". Little Fiction Big Truths. 2018.
• "Ode to Northern Alberta". This Magazine. 2017-10-27.
• "Love is a Moontime Teaching" (PDF). The Malahat Review: 91. Winter 2016.