The Book Shelf and The Bottle are excited to announce that the New York Times best-selling novelist Ron Rash will be making a second visit to Tryon on July 26 at 11 a.m.  Mr. Rash will be appearing at The Bottle and will read from both his recent book, “The Risen” and past novels such as “Serena” and “The Cove” as well as selected poems.  The staff at the Tryon Bottle have paired wine and beer options for purchase to be a perfect complement to a variety of Rash’s celebrated novels. There will also be appetizers available.

Rash has been called the “American Shakespeare” for his powerful prose and poetry.  Author Richard Russo describes his as a “writer of both the darkly beautiful and sadly true.” He has been awarded the Frank O’Connor prize for his short stories, been a PEN/Faulkner finalist, a two-time winner of the O. Henry Prize and winner of the James Still Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Rash’s poems and stories have appeared in more than 100 magazines and journals. With each new book, Rash has confirmed his position as a central and significant Appalachian writer alongside well-established names like Fred Chappell, Lee Smith, and Robert Morgan. Serena received enthusiastic reviews across and beyond the United States and was a 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist.

Rash was born on September 25, 1953 in Chester, South Carolina and grew up in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. He is a graduate of Gardner-Webb University and Clemson University from which he holds a B.A. and M.A. in English, respectively. In 1994 he published his first book, a collection of short stories titled The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth. Since then, Rash has published three collections of poetry, three short story collections, and four novels, all to wide critical acclaim.  Ron Rash holds the John and Dorothy Parris Professorship in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University, where he teaches poetry and fiction-writing in the Department of English.

For more information about this event, please call the Book Shelf 828-859-9304 or visit our Facebook page @thebookshelftryon.

– article submitted by Penny Padgett