Western Carolina University - Ron Rash, Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies

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Ron Rash, Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies

A son of Southern Appalachia preserves the literary and cultural legacy of his homeland

Native son: Professor Rash’s family has lived in the Southern Appalachian Mountains since the mid-1700s. It’s no wonder that his writing is anchored in the spirit of the region, or that he’s made his mark at WCU sharing the treasures of Appalachian culture and teaching in the English department.

When he’s not in class: He’s working on his writing—critically praised novels, narrative poems and short stories. He estimates that for the last 26 years, he’s spent about five hours a day, six days a week, at his writing desk. Or you might find him at WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center, where he arranges performances, readings and lectures that celebrate Appalachian culture.

Awards and accolades: His short story “Speckle Trout” won the 2005 O. Henry Prize, one of the most coveted awards for short fiction. Other awards include the Weatherford Award for Fiction (2005), Foreword Magazine’s Gold Medal for Best Literary Novel (2002), and a writing fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts (2006).

Words from images: According to Professor Rash, many of his novels are inspired by a single image. For Saints at the River, he drew from the image of child’s face looking up through the water. For One Foot in Eden, he was inspired by the thought of a farmer standing in his field with his crops dying around him. Often the image first takes shape in a poem and later becomes a novel when the image won’t let go of his imagination.

Advice to students who want to write: “Read as much as possible and read widely. Persevere. Too many good writers give up too quickly. Perseverance is underrated in creative writing. For most of us, who are not Shakespeare or Keats, it takes work. I believe deep, intense reading is crucial to being a good writer. Every good writer I know is a voracious reader, both in the classics and in contemporary fiction. I think you need to know where fiction has been and where it is going.”