North Carolina poet and novelist Ron Rash will receive the 2013 Thomas Wolfe Prize and deliver the annual lecture Oct. 2 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The free public talk will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Genome Sciences Building auditorium, 250 Bell Tower Road.
Rash’s prose is grounded in the cadences of his native North Carolina mountains while at the same time taking on environmental and moral issues. Over the course of his career, he has published four books of poetry, five short story collections and five novels.
Rash’s latest novel, “The Cove” (2012) is a heartbreaking account of prejudice and hate brought on by the first World War — and the love and tragedy it brings to one mountain community.
His novel “Serena” (2008) tells the story of an unforgettable title character — a sort of Lady Macbeth — whose ambition powers the clear cutting of the mountains’ majestic forests. The major motion picture version of the book, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, is scheduled for release this fall.
Rash, the Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University, has won many prizes for his work. These include the James Still Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers, two finalist spots for the PEN/Faulkner Award, two O. Henry Prizes and the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award.
The annual lecture and prize honor Thomas Wolfe, author of “Look Homeward, Angel,” who graduated from Carolina in 1920.
Sponsors of the 2013 lecture are 1978 English alumnus John Skipper and his wife Jessica, The Thomas Wolfe Society and the department of English and comparative literature. The prize money comes from the Thomas Wolfe Endowment Fund. Ben Jones, a 1950 UNC alumnus, provides the medals that each recipient receives.
Website: http://englishcomplit.unc.edu/wolfe
