Wordling Favorite Poems for National Poetry Month

The Exchange by Ron Rash






Mountain Bride by Robert Morgan



Work by Darnell Arnoult

Rash at the Hub

Ron was at the HubBub Thursday night to do a reading of Serena. Of course he started with one of the best opening paragraphs of any novel ever (in medias res), where you know that blood is not far in coming.

Byrnes High faculty was well represented in the crowd that was treated to glimpses of training an eagle to hunt rattle snakes, and some other tidbits about how those golden eagles from Mongolia are bred and trained to hunt. He read the scene where Rachel plants her father’s headstone and remembers some loving moments with him which were few and far between.

Then there are the delightful continuing conversations of the loggers which remind me very much of some of the bird walks we take in my Tech Prep Chemistry class. Yesterday I got this from a girl out of the middle of nowhere, “Do you believe in the Big Bang Theory, Mrs. I? I don’t. I was taught creation.”

“Me neither. Jesus put me here. Hallelujah!” said the boy behind her, tongue-in-cheek and a dip in the other, which I’ve grown to ignore because apparently he needs one after lunch or he’ll be disruptive in class.

“I think it’s kinda both. Don’t you , Miz I? What if it was God that made the Big Bang to happen?” said another kid.

“I think you’re probably right. You know how I always say that chemistry is God's science. Now, look at calcium on the periodic table. I’ll use the laser pointer and let’s say the electron configuration together. Ready? 1s2..2s2…what comes next?”

Serena's Coming!

I'm excited as a mill-hill kid during fair week and I got my free ticket from my school teacher. Hey! I am a mill-hill kid and it IS Piedmont Interstate Fair week. But the reason I'm excited is that my copy of Ron Rash's latest novel, Serena, is on it's way. Should get mine today or tomorrow. You can read the first chapter if you go find the Serena page on Amazon. There is also an interesting essay by Ron on the page.

The book actually springs from a short story published in Ron's anthology, Chemistry. The story, Pemberton's Bride, features evil Serena and her new husband, and is set in a Western North Carolina lumber camp in the 1930s.

I like how he writes a short story and then it grows up to be a novel. That also happened with the novel, The World Made Straight. Perhaps one of my stories will grow up to be a big book some day. Ha.

Our school was fortunate to host Ron last spring when he came to speak to our students about writing. I was honored when the librarians asked me and a few other teachers to join them and Ron for dinner the night before. You know, everytime I see that guy he ask me what I'm working on - I know Ron from the Wildacres workshops. And he did that for our students, too. You don't get that very often with famous writers. After dinner I just had to ask about training an eagle to hunt rattlesnakes - you'll know what I'm talking about if you read the short story or novel. A very lively discussion about how he learned about it and researching for fiction in general followed.

This one is going to be big, folks.

Rash is PEN/ Faulkner Finalist

With over 300 submissions, Chemistry and Other Stories, Carolina writer, Ron Rash's, short story collection was a runner-up for the 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award. I read it when it first came out and loved the stories (especially Chemistry). And I love the cover. This collection is on the shelf in The Middle Tyger River Library. It will be well worth your time. Congrats to Ron.

One Foot in Eden

I read it for the second time last week because our faculty Chat-N-Chew group will be discussing Ron Rash’s work this month. I have all his works, been reading them ever since Eureka Mills was first published by Hub City Writers Project back in 2001. And on April 30, the author will come speak to our students.
One Foot in Eden is one of those rare books that raise chill bumps on me when I’ve finished the last page and let it sink in. Look, even now as I think about it and type this, the fine hairs on my arms are sticking straight out. I’ll not give you a synopsis here and just say go to Amazon.com for that. But I will tell you that One Foot in Eden, which is Ron’s first novel, can take you through the whole gamut of emotions in about 200 pages. It haunted my dreams. Dang, that man can write!