Beyond the Book:
Ron Rash - Poet and Novelist

Ron Rash was born in Chester, South Carolina, in 1953, grew up in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, and is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University and Clemson University. 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 four collections of poetry, three short story collections, and five 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.

In 1996, Rash won the Sherwood Anderson Prize, a grant for developing writers. Then in 2005 he won the prestigious O. Henry Prize for his short story "Speckled Trout." In 2008, his collection, Chemistry and Other Stories, was a PEN/Faulkner finalist, as was his novel Serena in 2009. Currently, he holds the John Parris Chair in Appalachian Studies at Western Carolina University.

Below is a complete list of Rash's novels, poetry collections, and short story collections:

Novels:

• One Foot in Eden (2002)
• Saints at the River (2004)
• The World Made Straight (2006)
• Serena (2008)
• The Cove (2012)

Poetry Collections:

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

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)
• Burning Bright (2010)

To hear Ron Rash read from The Cove, and to get a feel for the Appalachian drawl, click on the video below.

This article was originally published in April 2012, and has been updated for the November 2012 paperback release. Click here to go to this issue.

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