Richard Yates (novelist)
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{{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] -->
| name = Richard Yates
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: | image = Richard_yates.jpg -->
| caption =
| birthdate = [[February 3]] [[1926]]
| birthplace = [[Yonkers, New York]]
| deathdate = [[November 7]] [[1992]]
| deathplace =
| occupation = [[novelist]], [[short story]] writer
| genre =
| movement = [[Realism (arts)|Realism]]
| nationality = [[United States]]
| influences = [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]], [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[J.D. Salinger]], [[Gustave Flaubert]]
| influenced = [[Andre Dubus]], [[Raymond Carver]], [[Richard Ford]]
| website =
}}
'''Richard Yates''' ([[February 3]] [[1926]] – [[November 7]] [[1992]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[novelist]] and [[short story]] writer. He was a chronicler of mid-20th century mainstream American life, often cited as artistically residing somewhere between [[J.D. Salinger]] and [[John Cheever]]. He is cited as the foremost novelist of the post-war "age of anxiety".
==Biography==
Born in [[Yonkers, New York]], Yates came from an unstable home. His parents divorced when he was three and much of his childhood was spent in many different towns and residences. Yates first became interested in journalism and writing while attending [[Avon Old Farms School]] in [[Avon, Connecticut]]. After leaving Avon, Yates joined the army and served in [[France]] and [[Germany]] in the late [[1940s]] and early [[1950s]].<ref name="br">{{cite journal
| authorlink = Stewart O’Nan
| title = The Lost World of Richard Yates
| journal = Boston Review
| volume =
| pages =
| date = October-November 1999
| publisher =}}</ref> Upon his return to [[New York]] he worked as a [[journalist]], freelance [[ghost writer]] (briefly writing speeches for Senator [[Robert Kennedy]]), and publicity writer for [[Remington Rand Corporation]].<ref>{{cite journal
| authorlink = Richard Ford
| last = Ford
| first = Richard
| title = Essay; American Beauty (Circa 1955)
| journal = The New York Times Book Review
| date = 2000-04-09
| publisher = The New York Times Company
| url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E3DF123CF93AA35757C0A9669C8B63
| accessdate = 2008-03-31}}</ref> His career as a novelist began in [[1961 in literature|1961]] with the publication of the widely heralded ''[[Revolutionary Road]]''. He subsequently taught writing at [[Columbia University]], the [[New School for Social Research]]<ref name="br"/>, [[Boston University]] (where his papers are archived)<ref>{{cite journal
| authorlink = Martin Naparsteck
| title = Drinking With Dick Yates
| journal = The North American Review
| volume =
| pages = 75
| date = May-August 2001
| publisher =}}</ref>, at the [[University of Iowa]] [[Iowa Writers' Workshop|Writer's Workshop]], and at the University of Southern California [[Master of Professional Writing Program]]. In [[1962]], he wrote the screenplay for a film adaptation of [[William Styron]]'s ''Lie Down In Darkness''. Twice divorced, Yates was the father of three daughters: Sharon, Monica, and Gina. In 1992, he died of [[emphysema]] and complications from minor surgery in [[Birmingham, Alabama]].<ref name="nytimesobit">{{cite news|first=Eric|last=Pace|title=Richard Yates, Novelist, 66, Dies; Chronicler of Disappointed Lives|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DD1138F93AA35752C1A964958260|work=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Company|date=1992-11-09|accessdate=2008-03-31}}</ref>
==Work==
Yates' first novel, ''Revolutionary Road'', was a finalist for the [[National Book Award]] that year (alongside [[Walker Percy]]'s ''[[The Moviegoer]]'' and [[Joseph Heller]]'s ''[[Catch-22]]''). Long admired as a "writer's writer", Yates was championed by writers as diverse as [[Kurt Vonnegut]], [[Dorothy Parker]], [[William Styron]], [[Tennessee Williams]], and [[John Cheever]]. Yates' brand of [[realism (arts)|realism]] was a direct influence on writers such as [[Andre Dubus]], [[Raymond Carver]], and [[Richard Ford]].<ref name="br"/>
Yates was also an acclaimed author of [[short stories]]. Despite this, only one of his short stories appeared in the ''[[The New Yorker]]'' (after repeated rejections). This story, "The Canal," was published in the magazine nine years after the author's death to celebrate the [[2001]] release of ''The Collected Stories of Richard Yates.''
For much of his life, Yates' work met almost universal critical acclaim, yet not one of his books sold over 12,000 copies in hardcover first edition.<ref>{{cite journal
| authorlink = Elizabeth Venant
| title = A Fresh Twist in the Road For Novelist Richard Yates, a Specialist in Grim Irony, Late Fame's a Wicked Return
| journal = Los Angeles Times
| volume =
| pages =
| date = July 9, 1989
| publisher =}}</ref> All of his novels were out of print in the years after his death, though his reputation has substantially increased posthumously and many of his novels have since been reissued in new editions. This current success can be largely traced to the influence of Stewart O'Nan's 1999 essay in the [http://bostonreview.net/ Boston Review] [http://bostonreview.net/BR24.5/onan.html "The Lost World of Richard Yates: How the great writer of the Age of Anxiety disappeared from print"].
With the revival of interest in Yates' life and work after his death, Blake Bailey published the first in-depth biography of Yates, titled ''A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates'' in [[2003]].
==Use in Popular Culture==
*Richard Yates was portrayed in an episode of ''[[Seinfeld]]'' as "Alton Benes", [[Elaine Benes|Elaine]]'s taciturn and hard-driving father who has George and Jerry scared of him. Yates' daughter, Monica, once dated [[Larry David]], the show's executive producer.
*In the movie ''[[Lonesome Jim]]'' the protagonist cites Yates as one of his favorite authors, and adds that when he died all his books were out of print.
*In Woody Allen's ''[[Hannah and Her Sisters]]'' Lee (played by Barbara Hershey) thanks Elliott (Michael Caine) for lending her ''[[The Easter Parade]]'', which she says was great.
*Richard Yates was godfather to the veteran character actor [[John Lacy]].
*Singer [[Tanita Tikaram]]'s 1992 album title, ''Eleven Kinds of Loneliness'', was borrowed from Yates' 1962 collection of short stories.
*In ''Million Dollar Baby'' Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) is seen reading a book by Yates.
==Bibliography==
*''[[Revolutionary Road]]'' ([[1961 in literature|1961]])
*''[[Eleven Kinds of Loneliness]]'' (stories) ([[1962 in literature|1962]])
*''[[A Special Providence]]'' ([[1969 in literature|1969]])
*''[[Disturbing the Peace (novel)|Disturbing the Peace]]'' ([[1975 in literature|1975]])
*''[[The Easter Parade]]'' ([[1976 in literature|1976]])
*''[[A Good School]]'' ([[1978 in literature|1978]])
*''[[Liars in Love]]'' (stories) ([[1981 in literature|1981]])
*''[[Young Hearts Crying]]'' ([[1986 in literature|1984]])
*''[[Cold Spring Harbor (novel)|Cold Spring Harbor]]'' ([[1986 in literature|1986]])
*''[[The Collected Stories Of Richard Yates]]'' ([[2001 in literature|2001]])
==Filmography==
*''[[The Bridge at Remagen]]'' (screenplay) ([[1969 in movies|1969]])
*''Lie Down In Darkness'' (screenplay, unproduced) ([[1985]])
*''[[Revolutionary Road (movie)|Revolutionary Road]]'' (book) ([[2008 in movies|2008]])
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* [[Herbert Mitgang|Mitgang, Herbert]], [http://www.richardyates.org/bib_mitgang.html "Moving the Story Along"], [[The New York Times]], October 28, 1984.
* [[Stewart O'Nan|O'Nan, Stewart]], [http://www.bostonreview.net/BR24.5/onan.html "The Lost World of Richard Yates: How the great writer of the Age of Anxiety disappeared from print"], ''[[Boston Review]]'', October/November, [[1999]]
* [[James Wood (critic)|Wood, James]], [http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1312156,00.html "Out of the ashes: James Wood salutes Blake Bailey's generous biography of Richard Yates, A Tragic Honesty"], [[The Guardian]], Saturday September 25, 2004. Guardian article on Yates biography.
==External links==
* [http://www.richardyates.org Best of Everything: The Richard Yates Archive (which contains all of the following links)]
* [http://www.tbns.net/elevenkinds/elevenkinds.index.html Eleven Kinds of Loneliness: A Website for Richard Yates]
* [http://www.pifmagazine.com/SID/714/ ''Pif Magazine'' profile of Yates]
* [http://www.hackwriters.com/Yates2.htm Review Of Yates' ''Collected Stories'']
* [http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2001-06-29/books_readings.html Austin Chronicle review of Yates' ''Collected Stories'']
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/05/06/RV165820.DTL Ann Beattie Review of Yates' ''Collected Stories'']
* [http://www.mobylives.com/Richard_Yates.html Moby Lives elegy on Yates]
* [http://www.pshares.org/issues/article.cfm?prmArticleid=128 An Interview with Richard Yates] ''[[Ploughshares]]''
* [http://www.identitytheory.com/interviews/birnbaum155.php Identity Theory interview with Yates' biographer, Blake Bailey]
{{BD|1926|1992|Yates, Richard}}
[[Category:American novelists]]
[[Category:Deaths from emphysema]]
[[Category:Guggenheim Fellows]]
[[Category:People from Yonkers, New York]]
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