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Meet the Author: Ron Rash
A North Carolina native author and educator, Ron Rash has received numerous awards for his poetry and fiction and currently holds the Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. A few of his awards include the Appalachian Writers Association’s Book of the Year, the O. Henry Prize, the Southeast Booksellers Association Fiction Award, and the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction.
His first novel, One Foot in Eden, was the 2002 winner of the Novello Press’s Literary Award, chosen for publication from more than 100 manuscripts. Novello Press is an imprint of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
Rash grew up in Boiling Springs, N.C., in the foothills of the Blue Ridge chain of the Appalachian Mountains. He graduated from Gardner-Webb College and Clemson University. Currently, he lives Clemson, South Carolina.
Q&A with Ron Rash
Q: Mr. Rash, do you have a favorite author or book that has influenced your life - and why?
A: I read Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment when I was fourteen; that book made me want to be a writer.
Q: Where did you get the idea for your first novel, One Foot in Eden?
A: I awoke one morning with an image of a young father standing in a field – the whole novel came from that image.
Q: Since you are also a published poet, it is not surprising that your novels are very lyrical and poetic and often compared to mountain ballads. Was it difficult or easy for you to transition from writing poetry to novels?
A: I had written short stories as well as poems since my late twenties. The novel writing did not come until my forties. The transition was not difficult, except for the fear I might waste two years of my writing life on a novel that wouldn’t be any good.
Q: The Appalachian people, culture and landscape are such an important part of your writing and your novels, so much that you are frequently described as an Appalachian writer. Do you feel that such a description could be limiting for a writer or for his/her readers?
A: I am very proud of my Appalachian heritage, and I hope my work has accurately captured some of the region’s aspects. However, if my work does not resonate with readers outside the Appalachians, I have failed as a writer.
Q: What is your next favorite past-time other than reading and writing?
A: I enjoy being outdoors, especially fishing and hiking.
Q: If you were to give a fledging writer some advice, what would it be?
A: Persistence. Too many potential writers allow themselves to get discouraged too easily.
Q: Is there something about yourself which is not commonly known that you can share with us?
A: I barely passed high school; I was a very poor student until college.
Interview Date: June 2007
Profile and questions compiled by Profile and Kim W., University City Regional
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