WCU’s Rash earning praise for short story collection “Burning Bright”
While negotiations continue in Hollywood for a big screen version of his most successful novel, Western Carolina University faculty member Ron Rash is collecting rave reviews in the United States and abroad for his most recent book, “Burning Bright.”
Ron Rash
A collection of 12 short stories, “Burning Bright” was released by HarperCollins Publishers in early March. As with his other works, which include seven books of fiction and three books of poetry, the stories in “Burning Bright” are set in Appalachia. The time frame of the stories spans from the Civil War era to present day.
In the Sunday, March 7, book section of The New York Times, reviewer Janet Maslin raved about Rash’s “elegantly sophisticated work” as revealed in “Burning Bright” and his other works, adding that “Mr. Rash certainly knows how to rivet attention.”
Another reviewer, Sue Russell, wrote in Library Journal that the stories in Rash’s new collection “burn themselves on the memory in much the same way as the photographs Walker Evans took of Southern sharecroppers in the 1930s.” Russell calls Rash “a master craftsman who pares down language to its essential elements in these starkly beautiful stories.”
In February, Rash learned that the short story “Burning Bright” from the collection had landed him on the 20-writer “long list” for the EFG Private Bank Short Story Award of the London Times newspaper in England. More than 1,100 published authors from around the world submitted short stories for the first edition of the new literary contest.
“Burning Bright” is Rash’s third published short story collection. He was named a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist in 2008 for his second book of short stories, “Chemistry and Other Stories.”
Rash’s New York Times bestselling novel, “Serena,” was published in October 2008 to widespread acclaim, and entertainment industry publications reported recently that actress Angelina Jolie is involved in discussions to star in a big-screen adaptation of the book. Also, “Serena” recently was released in Australia and in The Netherlands in a Dutch translation.
As Rash continues to earn recognition for his fiction and waits to see if his novel becomes a movie, he also is being honored closer to home. He will be inducted into the South Carolina Academy of Authors during a ceremony set for April 17 in Spartanburg, S.C. Considered to be the state of South Carolina’s “literary hall of fame,” the academy includes literary giants such as Pat Conroy, James Dickey and Josephine Humphreys.
A native of Boiling Springs who was raised there and in Chester, S.C., Rash teaches Appalachian literature and creative writing at WCU. He holds the position of Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture.
