Hope After Helene: Poetry Reading with Hilda Downer
Sat, Sep 27
|Boone
Join Hilda Downer for a moving poetry gathering marking the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene with the launch of "Had I a Dove: Appalachian Poets on the Helene Flood." Contributors will share their work, followed by an opportunity for community members to write and share their own reflections.
Time & Location
Sep 27, 2025, 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Boone, 604 W King St, Boone, NC 28607, USA
About the Event
Inside the Jones House, there will be a gathering to mark the release of Had I a Dove: Appalachian Poets on the Helene Flood by Redhawk Publications, edited by Hilda Downer and prefaced by Joseph Bathanti. Following readings from the contributors, a writing prompt will be provided for the community to write and then share their own flood poems. Sharing is optional, and no experience is necessary.
"Had I a Dove: Appalachian Poets on the Helene Flood" is available for pre-sale at:
All proceeds of sales go to the Helene Flood Relief Fund.
Hilda Downer grew up in Bandana, North Carolina, beside the oldest mica mine in the world. Currently, she lives in Sugar Grove, North Carolina, where she has raised two sons, Branch and Meade, who are respectively an artist and a fiddler. Hilda was appointed the High Country’s poet laureate earlier this year. Her workshop will create a sacred…