Ron Rash
After appearing on many best of lists for his work, this American writer has deservedly earned that honor after spending many years perfecting his craft. Poetry, short stories, as well as novels have all been part of Ron Rash's wide collection of work. After graduating from Gardner-Webb University and Clemson University, he dove headfirst into his love of writing. In 1994 he published his first book, The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth, which was a collection of short stories. He has also written titles such as Serena, Among the Believers, and Raising the Dead.His work has garnered him several awards including the O. Henry Prize as well as being a finalist for the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award. On top of his ongoing writing efforts, Rash has gone back to the classroom as a professor. He currently holds the John Parris Chair in Appalachian Studies at Western Carolina University.
Harmony Republic Interview
Check out the Harmony Republic exclusive interview with Ron Rash as he chats with our own Justin Wade Tam.
Harmony Republic: It seems like the last year has been pretty fruitful with the new novel being out in the last few years and some pretty prestigious awards coming your direction.
Ron Rash:Yeah. I've been very fortunate of late.
HR: So you grew up in the Appalachian Mountain region?
Rash: Yeah. I grew up in Boiling Springs, North Carolina which is right in the foothills of the Appalachians.
HR:It seems like the Appalachians are a theme of your writing as well.
Rash: Yes, I spent so much of my childhood actually in Boone on my grandfather's farm and my mother's family and my father's family have been in the region since the 1700s so there is obviously a deep sense of connection to the region.
HR: It's a beautiful area. I love the eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina area up there. Most of these stories you've written are based in the region. Is there purpose behind that or is that just kind of how you grew up and sort of infiltrated your writing?
Rash: Well, I think that Eudora Welty has a quote that I really love and it's, "One place understood helps us understand all other places better." And that has pretty much been my philosophy. I think that if you center on one particular place that it allows you to really get to the depths of that place and I think if you go far enough you're going to hit the universal. I think what a lot of Southern writers understand is that the best way to find the universal is through the particular, through a particular place.
HR: I think that's great.
Rash: Yeah. It's almost like a farmer drilling for water. You keep going deeper and deeper until you hit something or you hope you do. It's like it's going to resonate out wide and become more than just about one place. At least that's the hope. It's up to the reader to decide whether that's true or not.
HR: Well, it's definitely an area that is steeped in history to begin with it seems. I know it's fascinating to me. I'm from the west coast, but coming in to such an older mountain range with such a traditional folk history, it's gorgeous and you can feel it when you're there. How did you get involved in teaching in the area?
Rash: I went to graduate school, I love literature, and I thought teaching would be a good profession.
HR: Do you feel your students have an appreciation for the Appalachians or do you feel a burden to relay that to them?
Rash: I try to. And yes, I have actually taught an Appalachian literature class and I can remember after one semester an older student told me how the class, not so much -----, reading all these talented Appalachian writers such as Lee Smith and Fred Chappell, really made her proud of the region in a way she never had been before. I think that's a very positive thing. The Appalachian region has been so behind in popular culture, I think that it's a good thing the students can take pride in being from there instead of being ashamed of it.
HR: I know you've written in multiple forms of literature. You've got some short story compilations out and some poetry compilations and then your novels as well. Is there a particular genre you prefer working in?
Rash: They all have their challenges, but they all have their rewards. I think the hardest to do well is the short story. I think that's the most challenging.
HR: Why do you think that?
Rash: I think because you have to bring so much of what you bring into poetry into it and then so much of what you bring into a novel. It's almost like you've got to do both simultaneously in a short story. You're working where every line matters because it's so short and yet, at the same time, you have to give the reader a sense of the full story, the sense of completeness that we look for in a novel.
HR: When you're coming up with a short story then do you tend to approach it differently that writing a novel?
Rash: Sometime I don't know if it's going to be a novel, a poem, or a short story. Almost all my stories or poems or even novels begin with an image and I don't always know where that image is going to lead me. Sometimes I think it's going to lead me to a poem and I find out it's going to lead me to a novel ultimately.
HR: I was reading a few things on you and your writing and to summarize it suggested that being an athlete growing up has influenced your writing. Maybe you can speak a little bit about that. Is there a work ethic you try to stick to?
Rash: Sure. I think what athletics did was to give a certain degree of patience. For instance, knowing that you might have to train for a year to run a good race. Also the discipline to work and train every day was very good training for writing because there are so many days I would rather stab the pencils into my eyes than write another sentence. And I think that those are the days that make me a writer. It's the days that you don't want to write but do anyways that show you're serious about it.
HR: With the success of three novels, has there been something that makes you want to continue teaching or have you considered doing writing full time?
Rash: I enjoy teaching and I think it's good for me because there are a lot of days when the writing doesn't go well. The fact that I teach allows me to say I didn't write well today, but maybe I did some good in the classroom. It gives a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. But it's beyond that I truly enjoy teaching. I think I'm very fortunate to do something I truly love for a living.
HR: Do you have any suggestions for people who want to pursue a career in literature or the arts in general?
Rash: The main thing is to study the people who came before you.
You can purchase Ron's Work through your independent bookstore, Malaprop's in Asheville, NC, or online at amazon.
Harmony Republic: It seems like the last year has been pretty fruitful with the new novel being out in the last few years and some pretty prestigious awards coming your direction.
Ron Rash:Yeah. I've been very fortunate of late.
HR: So you grew up in the Appalachian Mountain region?
Rash: Yeah. I grew up in Boiling Springs, North Carolina which is right in the foothills of the Appalachians.
HR:It seems like the Appalachians are a theme of your writing as well.
Rash: Yes, I spent so much of my childhood actually in Boone on my grandfather's farm and my mother's family and my father's family have been in the region since the 1700s so there is obviously a deep sense of connection to the region.
HR: It's a beautiful area. I love the eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina area up there. Most of these stories you've written are based in the region. Is there purpose behind that or is that just kind of how you grew up and sort of infiltrated your writing?
Rash: Well, I think that Eudora Welty has a quote that I really love and it's, "One place understood helps us understand all other places better." And that has pretty much been my philosophy. I think that if you center on one particular place that it allows you to really get to the depths of that place and I think if you go far enough you're going to hit the universal. I think what a lot of Southern writers understand is that the best way to find the universal is through the particular, through a particular place.
HR: I think that's great.
Rash: Yeah. It's almost like a farmer drilling for water. You keep going deeper and deeper until you hit something or you hope you do. It's like it's going to resonate out wide and become more than just about one place. At least that's the hope. It's up to the reader to decide whether that's true or not.
HR: Well, it's definitely an area that is steeped in history to begin with it seems. I know it's fascinating to me. I'm from the west coast, but coming in to such an older mountain range with such a traditional folk history, it's gorgeous and you can feel it when you're there. How did you get involved in teaching in the area?
Rash: I went to graduate school, I love literature, and I thought teaching would be a good profession.
HR: Do you feel your students have an appreciation for the Appalachians or do you feel a burden to relay that to them?
Rash: I try to. And yes, I have actually taught an Appalachian literature class and I can remember after one semester an older student told me how the class, not so much -----, reading all these talented Appalachian writers such as Lee Smith and Fred Chappell, really made her proud of the region in a way she never had been before. I think that's a very positive thing. The Appalachian region has been so behind in popular culture, I think that it's a good thing the students can take pride in being from there instead of being ashamed of it.
HR: I know you've written in multiple forms of literature. You've got some short story compilations out and some poetry compilations and then your novels as well. Is there a particular genre you prefer working in?
Rash: They all have their challenges, but they all have their rewards. I think the hardest to do well is the short story. I think that's the most challenging.
HR: Why do you think that?
Rash: I think because you have to bring so much of what you bring into poetry into it and then so much of what you bring into a novel. It's almost like you've got to do both simultaneously in a short story. You're working where every line matters because it's so short and yet, at the same time, you have to give the reader a sense of the full story, the sense of completeness that we look for in a novel.
HR: When you're coming up with a short story then do you tend to approach it differently that writing a novel?
Rash: Sometime I don't know if it's going to be a novel, a poem, or a short story. Almost all my stories or poems or even novels begin with an image and I don't always know where that image is going to lead me. Sometimes I think it's going to lead me to a poem and I find out it's going to lead me to a novel ultimately.
HR: I was reading a few things on you and your writing and to summarize it suggested that being an athlete growing up has influenced your writing. Maybe you can speak a little bit about that. Is there a work ethic you try to stick to?
Rash: Sure. I think what athletics did was to give a certain degree of patience. For instance, knowing that you might have to train for a year to run a good race. Also the discipline to work and train every day was very good training for writing because there are so many days I would rather stab the pencils into my eyes than write another sentence. And I think that those are the days that make me a writer. It's the days that you don't want to write but do anyways that show you're serious about it.
HR: With the success of three novels, has there been something that makes you want to continue teaching or have you considered doing writing full time?
Rash: I enjoy teaching and I think it's good for me because there are a lot of days when the writing doesn't go well. The fact that I teach allows me to say I didn't write well today, but maybe I did some good in the classroom. It gives a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. But it's beyond that I truly enjoy teaching. I think I'm very fortunate to do something I truly love for a living.
HR: Do you have any suggestions for people who want to pursue a career in literature or the arts in general?
Rash: The main thing is to study the people who came before you.
You can purchase Ron's Work through your independent bookstore, Malaprop's in Asheville, NC, or online at amazon.