Major Works
- Rings: On the Life and Family of a Southern Fighter (1992)
Biography
Born in Mississippi, Bates is currently Professor of English at The University of New Orleans where he primarily teaches courses and workshops in nonfiction, introductory courses in creative writing and poetry, as well as coordinates service-oriented and community outreach programs. Bates also served as the nonfiction editor for Bayou Magazine at the University of New Orleans for 15 years. He has worked at the University of New Orleans since 1999.
Bates has previously taught at Xavier, Harvard, Tulane, Loyola, LSU, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, St. Martin’s Episcopal School.
Bates has received many residencies, scholarships, fellowships, and teaching awards in his career including the UNO Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching and an Artist Fellowship in Literature from the State of Louisiana.
His poetry has been published in the Southern Review, the Seattle Review and other publications; his nonfiction work has been published in New South, Grand Street, and others; and his fiction work has been published in the New Orleans Review, and the Cimarron Review as well as other publications.
His work “Rings: On the Life and Family of a Southern Fighter” focuses on the life and story of Collis Phillips, a prize-fighting boxer who became a trainer after his leg was paralyzed, and his family.
Related Websites
- Randy Bates is Associate Professor of Nonfiction and Poetry at The University of New Orleans
- LA Times article The Wrong Game (1992)
- New York Times Summary of the book (1992)
- Review by Kirkus (2010)
- Publishers Weekly Review