People say that college is a time to find oneself — it’s a transformation period. For Ron Rash, college turned him into the passionate, successful author that he is today.
Throughout his writing career, he published five novels, a children’s book and numerous poems and short stories in various magazines and journals. Rash was nationally recognized when his novels “The Cove” and “Serena” climbed up the New York Times Bestseller list, but the real shock came when he learned that his work would be adapted into a film.
“Serena” tells the story of a couple reigning a logging empire in North Carolina during the great depression. The novel focuses heavily on the beautiful, manipulative female lead for which the book is named.
“It started with an image of a woman on horseback … I found myself intrigued with her, particularly in the 1920s — a woman that could dominate a whole landscape of men and be that strong” Rash said. “I found her very interesting to write about.”
The on-screen adaptation of the novel is set to premiere October 24th in the UK but won’t hit United States theaters until this February.
“Serena” stars Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, and as a personal fan of Lawrence, Rash is excited to see what she does with the role. And even though the film is based off his book, Rash was uninvolved with the production of “Serena” after answering a few of the screenwriter’s questions.
“Once they take over the book, they’re creating a different vision — it’s a different kind of art,” he said. “I think the best thing writers can do is just stay out of their way. It’s hard enough for me to write novels, so I don’t need to be telling them how to write a screenplay.”
Rash’s story picked up some international attention over the past couple of months. After Rash sold the right to “Serena” he was not just relieved to pay off his mortgage — he’s looking forward to the attention that will be brought to readers that may not have heard about his novel otherwise.
“I think [‘Serena' is] my best work — not necessarily because it’s on screen but because I thought it was my most ambitious work,” he said. “It’s the book that I’m personally proudest of … but it’s kind of like choosing your children; you love them all.”
“Serena” is Rash’s first novel to hit the big screen, but it won’t be the last. His book “The World Made Straight” was picked up by an independent filmmaker and is set to come out this January.
Aside from the fact that he is a professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University, Rash was born in Chester, South Carolina and never strayed away from the area he calls home.
Many of his works, including novels “Serena,” “The Cove” and “The World Made Straight” were set in the North Carolina mountains, because the area is not only his home — it shaped him into the writer he is today.
Whether it’s the influence he draws from authors like Flannery O’Connor or simply because of where he grew up, there is a deep seeded connection to the South in his writing.
“I think being aware of that strong literary heritage certainly was important,” he said. “I knew pretty early on that [writing] was something Southerners did well.”
Years ago, Rash took the position as a writer in residence at USC, in which he was able to teach one class and finish one of his novels. With this connection to the university, he is excited to visit the English department for a reading later this week.
On Thursday, Rash will be making his way to the Hollings Special Collections section of Thomas Cooper Library to give a reading. As part of this year’s Fall Literary Festival, at 6 p.m. Rash will be doing a reading along with journalist and poet Eliza Griswold and poet Tony Hoagland. The event is free to the public.
Rash’s career was not an easy journey, and he is still looking to what life has in store for him next. For writers looking to get their start, he encouraged them to stick to where their passions lie. A career in writing takes persistence — it’s something you grow with and you never know where it might take you.
“Read as much as you can — read widely. You learn from people who have done something well,” he said. “Have a huge amount of patience. I had several novels that I ended up throwing away because they weren’t any good, and that’s okay. Be patient, keep trying — very often people give up too soon.”