Ron Rash

Ron Rash (born 1953), an American poet, short story writer and novelist, is the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. [cite press release
publisher = Literary Agency Marly Rusoff & Associates, Inc.
date = March 11 2008
title = "SERENA by Ron Rash"
url = http://www.rusoffagency.com/authors/rash_r/serenat/serena.htm ] Rash was born in Chester Springs, South Carolina, in 1953 and grew up in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. In 1994 he published his first book, a collection of short stories titled "The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth." Since then, Rash has published three collections of poetry, three short story collections, and three novels, all to wide critical acclaim and several awards and honors. Rash's poems and stories have appeared in more than 100 magazines and journals over the years. With each new book, Rash has confirmed his position as a central and significant Appalachian writer alongside well-established names like Fred Chappell, Lee Smith, and Robert Morgan. "Serena", Rash's forthcoming novel will be released in October, 2008. [cite press release
publisher = Western Carolina University
date = September 11 2003
title = "Critically Acclaimed writer Ron Rash Named WCU's Parris Professor"
url = http://www.wcu.edu/pubinfo/news/rashparris.htm ]

Bibliography

Poetry

*"Eureka Mill" (1998) [cite book
last=Rash
first=Ron
title= Eureka Mill
year= 1998
publisher= Bench Press
location= Columbia, SC
language= English
id= ISBN 0-930769-14-7] [cite book
last=Rash
first=Ron
title= Eureka Mill
url=http://www.hubcity.org/bk_eureka.htm
format= Paperback
year= 2001
month=September
publisher= Hub City Writers Project
location= Spartanburg, SC
language= English
id= ISBN 1-891885-20-0
pages= 64 pp. ]
**interweaves his family's personal migration from Buncombe County, NC farms with the broader portrait of mill life outside Chester, S.C.
*"Among the Believers" (2000) [cite book
last=Rash
first=Ron
title= Among the Believers
format= Paperback
year= 2000
publisher= Iris Press
location= Oak Ridge, TN
language= English
id= ISBN 0-916078-50-7 ]
*"Raising the Dead" (2002) [cite book
last=Rash
first=Ron
title= Raising the Dead
format= Paperback
year= 2002
publisher= Iris Press
location= Oak Ridge, TN
language= English
id= ISBN 0-916078-54-X ]
**Deals with loss and displacement as a result of the flooding of Jocassee Valley, S.C.

hort story collections

*"The Night The New Jesus Fell to Earth and Other Stories from Cliffside, North Carolina" (1994) [cite book
last=Rash
first=Ron
title= The Night The New Jesus Fell to Earth and Other Stories from Cliffside, North Carolina
year= 1994
publisher= Bench Press
location= Columbia, SC
language= English
id= ISBN 0-930769-11-2]
*"Casualties" (2000) [cite book
last=Rash
first=Ron
title= Casualties
year= 2000
publisher= Bench Press
location= Beaufort, SC
language= English
id= ISBN 0-930769-14-7]
*"Chemistry and Other Stories" (2007) [cite book
last=Rash
first=Ron
title= Chemistry and Other Stories
year= 2007
publisher= Picador
location= New York, NY
language= English
id= ISBN 0-312-42508-2]
** Thirteen short stories, eight of which were previously published in "Casualties" ("Chemistry," "Last Rite," "Not Waving But Drowning," "Overtime," "Cold Harbor", "Honesty", "Dangerous Love," "The Projectionist's Wife,"). Also includes the O. Henry Prize Winner "Speckled Trout" as well as "Pemberton's Bride," a story that gives a taste of Rash's forthcoming novel.

Novels

*"One Foot in Eden" (2002) [cite book | last=Rash | first=Ron | title= One Foot in Eden | format= Hardcover | year= 2002| publisher= Novello Festival Press | location= Charlotte, NC | language= English |id= ISBN 0-9708972-5-1 | pages= 240 pp. ] [cite book | last=Rash | first=Ron | title= One Foot in Eden | format= Trade paperback | year= 2004| publisher= Picador | location= New York | language= English |id= ISBN 0-312-42305-5 | pages= 240 pp. ]
**Fleshes out the characters and themes of "Raising the Dead". It tells the story of a community displaced disguised as a murder mystery and imbued with Rash’s poetic language.
*"Saints at the River" (2004) [cite book | last=Rash | first=Ron | title= Saints at the River | format= Hardcover | edition= 1st Ed.| year= 2004| publisher= Henry Holt | location= New York | language= English |id= ISBN 0-8050-7487-2 | pages= 288 pp. ] [cite book | last=Rash | first=Ron | title= Saints at the River | format= Trade paperback | year= 2005| publisher= Picador | location= New York | language= English |id= ISBN 0-312-42491-4 | pages= 256 pp. ]
**About a South Carolina community torn over the issue of environmentalism.
*"The World Made Straight" (2006) [cite book | last=Rash | first=Ron | title= The World Made Straight | format= Hardcover | edition= 1st Ed.|year= 2006 | month= April | publisher= Henry Holt | location= New York | language= English | id= ISBN 0-8050-7866-5| pages= 304 pp. ]
**Both a coming-of-age story set in the 1970s Appalachia and a meditation on the role of the past in the present, in this case a Civil War massacre that has divided Madison County, N.C. ever since.

Children's book

*"The Shark’s Tooth" (2001)

Honors

*1987: General Electric Younger Writers Award.
*1996: The Sherwood Anderson Prize.
*2002: Novello Literary Award for "One Foot in Eden".
*2002: "ForeWord Magazine"’s Gold Medal in Literary Fiction for "One Foot in Eden".
*2002: Appalachian Book of the Year for "One Foot in Eden".
*2004: "Saints at the River" is awarded Fiction Book of the Year by the Southern Book Critics Circle.
*2004: "Saints at the River" is awarded Fiction Book of the Year by the Southeastern Booksellers Association.
*2004: "Saints at the River" is given the Weatherford Award for Best Novel of 2004.
*2005: Rash is given the James Still Award by the Fellowship of Southern Writers.
*Short Story "Speckled Trout" included in 2005 O. Henry Prize Stories. [cite web
title=Past Winners List
work=The O. Henry Prize Stories
url=http://www.randomhouse.com/anchor/ohenry/winners/past.html
accessdate=2006-05-02 ] This story formed the basis for the first chapter of "The World Made Straight". [cite web
title=Author Spotlight: Ron Rash
work=The O. Henry Prize Stories | url=http://www.randomhouse.com/anchor/ohenry/spotlight/rash.html
accessdate=2006-05-02 ]
*In 2006, Participants in Western North Carolina will be reading "Saints at the River" as part of the region's program, "Together We Read." [cite journal | author=Rob Neufeld | title= The 'Year of Ron Rash' begins with book tour and Together We Read
journal= Ashville Citizen Times | year= 2006 | issue= April 2 2006 | url= http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060402/LIVING07/604020303/1004/LIVING | format= Dead link|date=May 2008 ]
*2008: Chemistry and Other Stories a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award

References