The Radiance of Small Things in Ron Rash's Writing

An examination of the writer's use of sensory detail to illuminate beauty in dreary situations

The Radiance of Small Things in Ron Rash's Writing examines how the poet's language bristles with a variety of carefully registered sensory perceptions detailing minute objects, some of which, Frédérique Spill argues, less poetic minds than his might consider insignificant. Through its eleven chapters, each devoted to a different book in order of publication, Spill's study shows how prone Rash is to making violence cohabit with beauty, thus imbuing the dreariest situations with a poignant brightness, an unlikely luminescence.

The overall discussion highlights the evolution of Rash's writing toward a dense inventiveness and a keen poetic awareness of the workings of the natural world, which reaches a peak with the publication of Above the Waterfall. However, readers more particularly interested in one specific book may consult chapters separately. The volume concludes with three interviews with Rash, respectively focusing on novels, short stories, and poetry.

Through close readings and systematic observations of Ron Rash's writing, Spill hopes to illuminate these seemingly insignificant details. They somehow contain larger elements--textual components that could remain unnoticed but might very well prove fraught with significance.