Ron Rash (born September 25, 1953) is an American poet, short story writer and novelist and the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University.

Early life

Rash was born on September 25, 1953, in Chester, South Carolina and grew up in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. He is a graduate of Gardner–Webb University and Clemson University from which he holds a B.A. and M.A. in English, respectively.

Career

Rash's poems and stories have appeared in more than 100 magazines and journals. '' Serena'' was a 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award finalist. Rash has achieved acclaim as a short story author, winning the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award in 2010 for '' Burning Bright.'' Recent work such as '' The Outlaws'' (''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was founded in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on ' ...

'', Summer, 2013) focused on ordinary lives in southern

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

. Jim Coby examined Rash's use of mystery thriller tropes in '' One Foot in Eden''. Ron Rash holds the John and Dorothy Parris Professorship in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University, where he teaches poetry and fiction in the Department of English.

Literary work

''One Foot in Eden'' (2002) was Rash's first novel. It fleshes out the characters and themes of ''Raising the Dead'' (2002), tells the story of a community displaced, disguised as a murder mystery and imbued with Rash's poetic language. His sophomore effort, '' Saints at the River'' (2004), covers a dispute in a South Carolina community torn over the issue of environmentalism. '' The World Made Straight'' (2006) is his third. This piece acts with dual purpose, as a coming-of-age story set in the 1970s

and a meditation on the role of the past on the present, in this case a Civil War massacre that has divided

Madison County, North Carolina Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,193. Its county seat is Marshall. Madison County is part of the Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. History ...

. It was later adapted into a feature film, directed by David Burris and released in 2015. Next was '' Serena'' (2008), which was also adapted into a feature film, too called ''Serena'' (2014), directed by Susanne Bier and starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. The film was a critical and box office failure. In both, an ambitious wife of a North Carolina timber baron, Serena, brings the spirit of Lady MacBeth to depression-era North Carolina. In '' The Cove'' (2012), the main family is afflicted with a series of grave misfortunes. Their lives, particularly Laurel's, are interrupted at the arrival of a mute stranger who has been found after suffering a severe number of wasp stings.

Awards

* 1987: General Electric Younger Writers Award * 1996: The Sherwood Anderson Prize * 2002: Novello Literary Award (''One Foot in Eden'') * 2002: ''ForeWord Magazines Gold Medal in Literary Fiction (''One Foot in Eden'') * 2002: Appalachian Book of the Year (''One Foot in Eden'') * 2004: Fiction Book of the Year by the Southern Book Critics Circle (''Saints at the River'') * 2004: Fiction Book of the Year by the Southeastern Booksellers Association (''Saints at the River'') * 2004: Weatherford Award for Best Novel of 2004 (''Saints at the River'') * 2005: James Still Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers * 2005: O. Henry Prize Stories included "Speckled Trout". This story formed the basis for the first chapter of ''The World Made Straight''. * 2008: Finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction (''Chemistry and Other Stories'') * 2009: Finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction (''Serena'') * 2010: '' The Best American Short Stories 2010'' included "The Ascent" * 2010: Heasley Prize at Lyon College * 2010: Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award (''Burning Bright'') * 2010: Inducted into the South Carolina Academy of Authors * 2011: SIBA Book Award (Fiction) for ''Burning Bright'' * 2012: David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction for ''The Cove'' * 2014: Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for ''The Cove'' * 2018: '' The Best American Short Stories 2018'' (Fiction) for "The Baptism"

New York Times Bestseller list

*''Serena'' was listed as #34 for Hardcover Fiction in the November 2, 2008 issue of The New York Times Book Review. *''The Cove'' was listed as #16 for Hardcover Fiction in the April 29, 2012 issue of The New York Times Book Review and remained on the list as #29, #22, and #31 for the three subsequent weeks. *''Nothing Gold Can Stay'' was listed as #28 for Hardcover Fiction in the March 10, 2013 issue of The New York Times Book Review.

List of works

Novels

* ''One Foot in Eden'' (2002) * '' Saints at the River'' (2004) * '' The World Made Straight'' (2006) * '' Serena'' (2008) * '' The Cove'' (2012) * ''Above the Waterfall'' (2015) *''The Risen'' (2016) * '' The Caretaker'' (2023)

Short story collections

* ''The Night The New Jesus Fell to Earth and Other Stories from Cliffside, North Carolina'' (1994) *''Casualties'' (2000) * ''Chemistry and Other Stories'' (2007) ** 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. * ''Burning Bright'' (2010) * ''Nothing Gold Can Stay'' (2013) * ''Something Rich and Strange'' (2014) *''In the Valley'' (2020) ** ''Stories and a novella based on Serena''

Poetry

* '' Eureka Mill'' (1998) * '' Among the Believers'' (2000) * '' Raising the Dead'' (2002) * '' Waking'' (2011)

Children's book

*'' The Shark's Tooth'' (2001)

Magazine publications

*''The Woman at the Pond'' ('' The Southern Review'', Vol. 46.4, 2010) *''The Outlaws'' (''

'', Summer, 2013)

References

External links

Ron Rash's website

Ron Rash archive
at the University of South Carolina Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
Saints at the River and Selected Poems

Ron Rash Harper Collins Author Page

Penguin Random House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rash, Ron 1953 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Appalachian studies Novelists from South Carolina American male short story writers 21st-century American poets American male poets People from Chester, South Carolina People from Boiling Springs, North Carolina Gardner–Webb University alumni Clemson University alumni Novelists from North Carolina 20th-century American poets Poets from South Carolina 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers