Published October 3, 2017
Don Bates, DC3 Assistant Professor of English, has recently had a non-fiction essay accepted for publication in an Australian scholarly journal entitled, 34th Parallel Magazine. The essay, “Comets,” is about Bates’ attempts to view Halley’s Comet in 1986 as well as other comets that he has viewed over the years. Bates is an astronomy hobbyist, having built two telescopes that he uses to stargaze.
“Creative writing is still a fairly new activity for me,” stated Mr. Bates. His other publications include his Master’s thesis of which an excerpt was published as a short story called “Bedlamite,” in the Texas Review Journal, and a non-fiction biography entitled Resurrecting Trash: Dan Phillips and the Phoenix Commotion. The latter is available on Amazon books.
“I consider myself a beginning writer, and try to attend writing seminars whenever possible,” said Bates. “Most recently, I completed a workshop by science-fiction writer, David Farland (known as the “Story Doctor”). I also find that writing my own creative material helps me as an English instructor at DCCC, because I can relate to the challenges my students face when they write essays for my classes. I feel strongly that college faculty should always continue to grow professionally by practicing the subjects they teach. Although research and publication is generally not a major focus for community college faculty, there are still many opportunities to stay active in a variety of areas.” When asked about future publishing plans, Bates replied, “To be honest, I am a slow writer, but try to keep active on projects between spring and fall semesters.”