Writing career

About six months after the deaths of his family, John Trudell started writing poetry. He described his work, “They're called poems, but in reality they're lines given to me to hang on to.”^[20] He has written many poems, including "Baby Boom Che" and "Rant and Roll," and hundreds of others.
In the 2010s he often shared recent poetic musings and written works-in-progress via social media, such as his Facebook page.
Various impromptu videos of Trudell in live concert appearances or addressing political, social, indigenous rights and educational groups are posted on Google's Youtube.com, and although he was sought after by various print and broadcast media outlets for "sound byte commentary," Trudell preferred to speak in less frenetic style directly to gatherings assembled for specific causes that he supports (e.g., advocating on behalf of re-legalizing hemp cultivation for its many beneficial uses, including sustainable paper pulp).
Trudell often used his poetry as lyrics for recordings, and began in 1982 to set them to traditional American Indian music, which also in the 1980s eventually led to the recording of A.K.A Graffiti Man, as he struggled to make sense of bewildering situations that confronted him, including the loss of so many loved ones.
In late 1988, Australian rock band Midnight Oil invited Trudell (as Graffiti Man) to tour with them during their From Diesel and Dust to the Big Mountain world tour. They billed Trudell's part of the show as "Native American activist performance." Members of Midnight Oil played traditional instruments, sang in native American languages, and accompanied songs with heavy psychedelic Hendrix-style guitar, accompanying Trudell. This exposure brought Trudell new and larger audiences.^{[citation needed]}
Trudell also toured in 1993 with Peter Gabriel's global WOMAD (World Music and Dance) production. He was billed as John Trudell, performing his traditional songs and reading his poetry.
In 2008, Trudell published a book, Lines From a Mined Mind: The Words of John Trudell, a collection of 25 years of poetry, lyrics and essays.