T. F. Rigelhof

{{short description|Canadian writer and academic (born 1944)}}

Terrence Frederick "Terry" (T. F.) Rigelhof (born April 24, 1944){{cite web|title=Rigelhof, Terrence Frederick (1944-)|url=https://esask.uregina.ca/entry/rigelhof_terrence_frederick_1944-.jsp|website=The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan|publisher=Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina}} is a Canadian writer and academic."Terry Rigelhof changes outlook on life". Guelph Mercury, June 12, 2004. He is best known for A Blue Boy in a Black Dress, his memoir of his time studying at a Roman Catholic seminary school prior to abandoning the priesthood;"Memoir takes provocative look at religion". Montreal Gazette, January 6, 1996. the book was a shortlisted finalist for the Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction at the 1996 Governor General's Awards,"Local authors top list: Governor-General's Literary Awards nominees announced". Montreal Gazette, October 18, 1996. and won the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction at the Quebec Writers' Federation Awards."QSPELL honours anglophone writers: Literary award adopts new voting system where judges make choices independently". The Globe and Mail, November 23, 1996.

Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, Rigelhof joined the seminary in the 1960s. He left those studies after a crisis of faith which left him suicidal, but retained an academic interest in the history and sociology of religion, becoming a longtime instructor at Montreal's Dawson College."A Blue Boy in a Black Dress: A Memoir". The Globe and Mail, December 30, 1995. He published the novel The Education of J.J. Pass (1983) and the short story collection Je t'aime, Cowboy (1993) prior to writing A Blue Boy in a Black Dress; he published one further novel, Badass on a Softail, in 1997 before concentrating on non-fiction writing thereafter."A home for Canlit". Montreal Gazette, April 3, 2010. In addition to his books, he was a regular literary critic for The Globe and Mail and other publications.

His later non-fiction works included the Canadian literature studies This Is Our Writing (2000) and Hooked on Canadian Books: The Good, the Better, and the Best Canadian Novels Since 1984 (2010); the George Grant biography George Grant: Redefining Canada (2001);"Lives of the intellectual saints". The Globe and Mail, January 12, 2002. and a second memoir, Nothing Sacred: A Journey Beyond Belief (2004).