Gabrielle Bates

Gabrielle Bates
Bates reading at an event in 2023
Born1991 (age 34–35)[1]
EducationBA in English (creative writing), 2013
MFA in creative writing, 2016
Alma materAuburn University
University of Washington
Occupations
  • writer
  • tutor
  • visual artist
Spouse
Andrew Stahlman
​
(m. 2014)​
[2]
Writing career
LanguageEnglish
Genres
  • poetry
  • visual art
  • creative nonfiction
Notable worksJudas Goat
"For Louise Glück"[3]
Notable awards
Websitewww.gabriellebat.es

Gabrielle Bates (born 1991) is an American writer and visual artist from Birmingham, Alabama, based in Seattle.[7][8] Her debut poetry collection, Judas Goat (2023), was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award.[9] The collection has been reviewed for its focus on human and nonhuman animal encounters.[10]

Life and education

Bates, who is a Scorpio,[11] was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama.[12] She earned a BA in English (creative writing) from Auburn University in 2013 and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Washington in 2016.[13]

Bates is the daughter of the professional photographer Liesa Cole. In 2014, she married Andrew Stahlman, whom she met while at Auburn.[2]

Career

Based in Seattle, Bates has worked for Open Books: A Poem Emporium as a social media manager and cohosts the podcast The Poet Salon with Lue Hughes and Dujie Tahat.[14][15] She has taught through Hugo House, the Rosenbach Museum, Tin House Writers' Workshops, and the University of Washington Study Abroad Rome Program.[16][17]

Her work has appeared in Poetry, Ploughshares, American Poetry Review, The New Yorker, Kenyon Review, The Rumpus, and elsewhere.[18] She has received awards and scholarships including the Gregory Djanikian Scholarship in Poetry from The Adroit Journal in 2019.[6] In 2022, she was a finalist for a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship.[5]

Judas Goat was published by Tin House in 2023. In The New York Times column "The Shortlist", Stephanie Burt discussed the collection's relationship to fairy tales.[19] The book was also included in NPR's "Books We Love: Best Books of 2023".[20] A UK and Ireland edition of Judas Goat was published by the87press in October 2025.[21]

Before her debut collection, Bates published the chapbook This Afternoon We are All Arachnes as a limited-edition poetry-comic accordion booklet with Book Arts in 2017. Another chapbook, Before your bed was my bed / Antes de que tu cama fuese mi cama, was published as a bilingual edition translated by Bárbara Bianchi Ceballos in 2024.[18]

In January 2025, her essay on Brigit Pegeen Kelly's collection Song (1995), titled "The Verberating World", was published as part of West Branch's "This Long Winding Line: A Poetry Retrospective", edited by Shara Lessley.[22] As of 2025, Bates was also a visiting writer at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.[23]

Reception

At the AWP 2023 conference, Bates sold out copies of Judas Goat at the Brooklyn Poets booth on the first day.[24] The collection was also included in Electric Literature's "Best Poetry Collections of 2023" and Book Riot's "12 of the Best Poetry Collections from 2023".[25][26] BuzzFeed included it in a list of new and upcoming poetry collections and wrote that the book "wrestles with motherhood and memory and the unfixed boundaries of what makes a place — or a person — feel like home."[27]

Writing in Only Poems, Andreea Ceplinschi said the poems focus "on fragility and forced transformations" following transformative events and praised the way the collection explores betrayal from multiple angles.[28] Shannan Mann wrote that the collection leaves the reader "wanting to re-read".[29] An Autostraddle review stated that "Bates writes with such precision it's almost ghastly."[30] The book was also named a "Most-Anticipated Book of Winter" by Vulture.[31]

Bates's poem "The Dog", the opening poem of Judas Goat, first appeared in The Offing in 2019 and later appeared in Poetry Daily.[32][33] Reviewers described the poem as "stunning" and "gut-punching".[34][35] Bates said the poem was "difficult" to place in the book,[36] and the Mid-American Review blog called it "shocking" for "its unforgiving portrayal of the violence we cause."[37] Writing for Only Poems, Ceplinschi called it "[t]he highlight of th[e] collection".[28] Anthony Domestico described Bates as Brigit Pegeen Kelly's "poetic daughter" after reading Judas Goat.[38] Writing for the Chicago Review of Books, Mandana Chaffa called the collection "a noteworthy debut, and confirmation of Bates's talent, heart and place in contemporary poetry."[39]

The Dawn Review praised Bates's "ability to capture seemingly uncontrollable things", noting the book as "clenched like a fist around an egg."[40]

Books

  • This Afternoon We are All Arachnes (Book Arts, 2017)
  • Judas Goat (US: Tin House, 2023; UK: the87press, 2025)[18]
  • Before your bed was my bed / Antes de que tu cama fuese mi cama (bilingual edition; translated by Bárbara Bianchi Ceballos) (Desperate Literature, 2024)

Awards

Fellowships

  • 2014: Bucknell Seminar for Younger Poets Fellowship[18]
  • 2017: June Dodge Fellowship, Mineral School Artist Residency[42]
  • 2019: Jack Straw Writers Fellowship[43]

References

  1. ↑ "Judas Goat". The Seattle Public Library (BiblioCommons). Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  2. 1 2 McAlister, Laura (July 14, 2015). "A barnyard wedding: College sweethearts tie the knot at J&D Farms in Southside, Ala". Birmingham Magazine. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  3. ↑ Bates, Gabrielle (October 12, 2020). "For Louise Glück". Jewish Currents. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
  4. ↑ "2024 Washington State Book Award Winners & Finalists, Adult Categories". Whatcom County Library System. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "Poetry Foundation Announces the 2022 Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellows". Poetry Foundation. September 22, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 LaBerge, Peter (March 19, 2019). "Announcing The Adroit Journal's 2019 Djanikian Scholars!". The Adroit Journal. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Art in Conversation: Gabrielle Bates (ep. 1)". Fields Magazine. September 29, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  8. ↑ Vansynghel, Margo (March 31, 2022). "Seattle's Open Books finds new home in Pioneer Square". Cascade PBS. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  9. ↑ "2024 Washington State Book Award Winners & Finalists, Adult Categories". Whatcom County Library System. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  10. ↑ Ok, Cindy Juyoung. "Judas Goat by Gabrielle Bates". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  11. ↑ Rogers, Sarah (Lyn) (February 18, 2025). "10 Books with Scorpio and Eighth House Energy". Electric Literature. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  12. ↑ Thompson, Jay Aquinas. "A Conversation with Gabrielle Bates". The Adroit Journal. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  13. ↑ "English alumna publishes second poem in The New Yorker". Auburn University. May 26, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  14. ↑ Vansynghel, Margo (March 31, 2022). "Seattle's Open Books finds new home in Pioneer Square". Cascade PBS. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  15. ↑ Mohammed, Syma (July 26, 2023). "A look inside Seattle's flourishing poetry scene". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Gabrielle Bates". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Brooklyn Poets Book Launch: Gabrielle Bates". Academy of American Poets. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Publications & awards". Gabrielle Bates. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  19. ↑ Burt, Stephanie (March 7, 2023). "The Shortlist: From Newcomers and Veterans, Four New Poetry Books Worth Your Time". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Books We Love". NPR. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Gabrielle Bates launches Judas Goat at Topping & Co Edinburgh (with Jessica Widner)". the87press. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  22. ↑ Lessley, Shara (January 14, 2025). "This Long Winding Line: A Poetry Retrospective - Brigit Pegeen Kelly's SONG (1995)". West Branch. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Gabrielle Bates". English: College of Arts and Sciences. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. October 15, 2025. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  24. ↑ Vansynghel, Margo (March 17, 2023). "How the AWP writers conference in Seattle generated an estimated $15M". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Electric Lit's Best Poetry Collections of 2023". Electric Literature. November 28, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  26. ↑ Pan, Connie (December 22, 2023). "12 of the Best Poetry Collections from 2023". Book Riot. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  27. ↑ Sackton, Laura (April 1, 2023). "13 New And Upcoming Poetry Collections To Pick Up If You're Trying To Get Into Poetry". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  28. 1 2 Ceplinschi, Andreea (October 30, 2024). "7 Poetry Collections to Read After Reading About Another School Shooting". ONLY POEMS. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  29. ↑ Mann, Shannan (January 1, 2024). "A Poetry Collection for Every Kind of New Year's Resolution Maker". ONLY POEMS. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  30. ↑ ""Judas Goat" by Gabrielle Bates Made Me Start Writing Again". autostraddle. ForThem. June 24, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  31. ↑ ""A stunner... haunted... profound"". Auburn University College of Liberal Arts. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  32. ↑ Bates, Gabrielle (September 4, 2019). "The Dog". The Offing. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  33. ↑ Bates, Gabrielle (January 24, 2023). "The Dog". Poetry Daily. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  34. ↑ Smith, Michelle R. (April 8, 2024). "NaPoWriMo Poetry Prompt #7". Medium. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  35. ↑ Pan, Connie (March 20, 2023). "Reflecting on Winter's Poetry". Book Riot. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  36. ↑ Jones, I.S. "Legacy Suite #8". Palette Poetry. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  37. ↑ "An Interview with Gabrielle Bates". Mid-American Review Blog. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  38. ↑ Domestico, Anthony (December 16, 2023). "The Year in Books: My top choices of 2023". Commonweal Magazine. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  39. ↑ "The Price of Survival in "Judas Goat"". Chicago Review of Books. January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  40. ↑ Wang, Evan; Yan, Ziyi (April 15, 2023). "A Review of Gabrielle Bates's "Judas Goat"". The Dawn Review. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  41. ↑ "2015 Winter Contest Series: Poetry Comics & Flash Non-Fiction Contests". Gigantic Sequins. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  42. ↑ "2017 Residents Announced!". Mineral School. April 26, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  43. ↑ "2019 Jack Straw Writers Program". Jack Straw Cultural Center. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
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