Wilkes Journal Patriot: Reading a Book You Can't Put Down by Caroline Czerkawski

Check out this wonderful opinion piece about Wilkes Reads Together and Saints at the River written by Caroline Czerkawski at Wilkes Journal Patriot.

Reading a book you can’t put down - journalpatriot: Opinion

Author Ron Rash Will Give Two Readings in Wilkes County, North Carolina

Author Ron Rash will read from and sign copies of his novel Saints at the River at two events in Wilkes County, North Carolina, scheduled for October 20, 2011.

The first reading will be held at 2:00 pm on the campus of Wilkes Community College (Mays Auditorium located in Thompson Hall). Rash will meet with students and faculty at a booksigning immediately following the reading outside the college bookstore.

The second event will take place at 6:00 pm in the Wilkes County Public Library in North Wilkesboro. A booksigning sponsored by the Friends of the Library will follow.

Both events are FREE and open to the general public. Please save the date, and come out to meet this talented author who writes so beautifully about western North Carolina and the entire Appalachian region.

2011 Calendar of Events

Sep. 6 - Nov. 1

Photography exhibit featuring works by Carol Canter and Dr. Gordon Burns, Town Hall, Wilkesboro. Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm. FREE

Sep. 15

Author Randy Johnson will discuss his books HIKING IN NORTH CAROLINA and HIKING THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY at the Wilkes County Public Library, 5:30 pm. FREE

Sep. 15

Reader's Theater, Family Central/Old Lincoln Heights building, N. Wilkesboro, 7-9pm. Cozy setting for a read around. Suggested passages for reading will be available or bring your own. FREE

Sep. 17

River Walk with RG Absher. Begin at the old Coffee Tavern, N. Wilkesboro, 9am. A 1 1/2 hr. walk on the Yadkin Greenway to discuss environmental issues from SAINTS AT THE RIVER as related to the Yadkin River. FREE

Sep. 29

Reader's Theater, 3rd floor multi-purpose room at Rose Glen, Wilkesboro, 2-4pm. FREE

Sep. 29

Elkville String Band, Wilkes Public Library, 7-8pm. FREE

Oct. 1 - Oct. 31

Photography exhibit, Friends of the Library meeting room, Wilkes Public Library. FREE

Oct. 6

Jon Swaim, Mayes Pitt Auditorium; noon. Fly fishing teacher and river guide Jon Swaim will discuss the impact of environmentally dependent business on the rivers of NW South Carolina which inspired Ron Rash's novel SAINTS AT THE RIVER. FREE

Oct. 6

Seniors on Stage concert "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou," Wilkes Heritage Museum, 7-8pm. Admission $2.00

Oct. 8

River Walk and Talk along the Yadkin River with a park ranger, focusing on the Kerr Lake ecosystem, history of W. Kerr Scott Dam and water safety. Marley Ford Canoe Access off Hwy 268W, 2pm. FREE

Oct. 11

Creative Writers' group host Caroline Czerkawski with the topic "My Father's Writing" and a discussion about creative writing in journalism. Wilkes Public Library, 9am. FREE

Oct. 12

Book Discussion led by Mary Wilson, Wilkes Senior Center Library, Fairplains School Road, N. Wilkesboro, 2pm. FREE

Oct.12

Book Discussion, Wilkes Senior Center, 2 pm. FREE

Oct. 20

Author Ron Rash will discuss his novel SAINTS AT THE RIVER, Mays Pitt Auditorium, Wilkes Community College, 2pm. FREE

Oct. 20

Author Ron Rash will discuss his novel SAINTS AT THE RIVER, Wilkes County Public Library, 6pm. FREE

About the Author: Ron Rash

Ron Rash's family has lived in the southern Appalachian Mountains since the mid-1700's, and it is this region that is the primary focus of his writing. Rash grew up in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, and graduated from Gardner-Webb College and Clemson University. He holds the John Parris Chair in Appalachian Studies at Western Carolina University. Rash is the author of 9 books: The Night The New Jesus Fell to Earth (short stories), Casualties (short stories), Eureka Mill (poetry), and Among the Believers (poetry), Raising the Dead (poetry), One Foot in Eden (novel), Saints at the River (novel), The World Made Straight (2006), Serena (2008), and Burning Bright (short stories). His poetry and fiction have appeared in over one hundred journals, magazines, and anthologies, including The Longman Anthology of Southern Literature, Western Wind, Sewanee Review, Yale Review, Georgia Review, Kenyon Review, New England Review, Southern Review, Shenandoah and Poetry.

In 1994, Rash was awarded an NEA Poetry Fellowship, and he won the Sherwood Anderson Prize in 1996. In 2001, he won the Novella Festival Novel Award, and in 2002 the Foreword Magazine’s Gold Medal in Literary Fiction for One Foot in Eden. The novel was also named Appalachian Book of the Year. His second novel, Saints at the River, was named Fiction Book of the Year by both the Southern Book Critics Circle and the Southeastern Booksellers Association. In 2005 Rash won an O. Henry award for his story “Speckled Trout” and received the James Still Award by the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

For more information about the author, visit his literary agent HERE.

About the Book: SAINTS AT THE RIVER

When a twelve-year-old girl drowns in the Tamassee River and her body is trapped in a deep eddy, the people of the small South Carolina town that bears the river's name are thrown into the national spotlight. The girl's parents want to attempt a rescue of the body; environmentalists are convinced the rescue operation will cause permanent damage to the river and set a dangerous precedent. Torn between the two sides is Maggie Glenn, a twenty-eight-year-old newspaper photographer who grew up in the town and has been sent to document the incident. Since leaving home almost ten years ago, Maggie has done her best to avoid her father, but now, as the town's conflict opens old wounds, she finds herself revisiting the past she's fought so hard to leave behind.

To visit the publisher's website, click HERE.

Wilkes Reads Together Book Selection 2011: SAINTS AT THE RIVER by Ron Rash

WILKES READS TOGETHER is pleased to announce the 2011 book selection: Saints at the River by author Ron Rash. Copies of the novel are available for purchase at the Cultural Arts Council of Wilkes, the Wilkes Heritage Museum, and Rhoades Bookstore. Copies are available on loan at the Wilkes County Public Library.

Book discussion brochures are available at the same locations.

Visit Wilkes Reads Together on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more information about upcoming events.