Marvin Francis was born in Heart Lake First Nation in northern Alberta. His poetry appeared in numerous journals, magazines, and anthologies and he also wrote for stage and radio. A poet, playwright, artist, actor, and theatre director, he won the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer in 2002. He was pursuing his doctoral studies in English at the University of Manitoba and was a member of both the Aboriginal Writers Collective and the Manitoba Printmakers Association when he passed away in January, 2005.