WSCC Plans "Gathering in Remembrance of Helene"

Kelsey Solomon, assistant dean of the Division of Humanities and associate professor of English, show a copy of "Had I a Dove." Hilda Downer, editor of the anthology, will be reading some of the poems published at Walters State's "A Gathering in Remembrance of Helene."

Event Planned for Sept. 17 on Niswonger Campus

Walters State’s Niswonger Campus will host “A Gathering in Remembrance of Helene” on Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. The event is free.

Special guest Hilda Downer will read from the anthology, “Had I a Dove.” This book features the work of 95 poets responding to Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina in September 2024. The anthology has received the Weatherford Prize for poetry.

This will be the first public reading from the anthology. Downer serves as poet laureate of The High Country, which covers the North Carolina counties of Ashe and Wilkes. She is a retired English instructor and a retired nurse.

“We will open the floor to those attending who want to share their experiences,” said Kelsey Solomon, associate professor of English and assistant dean of the Division of Humanities at Walters State. She is co-hosting the event with Mark Wills, dean of the Niswonger Campus.

“We want to acknowledge how far we have come and how far we still have to go,” she said. 
         
A poem written by Solomon is included in “Had I a Dove.” She will be reading that poem during the ceremony.  Chip McClain, associate professor of English at Walters State, will perform an original song inspired by the events surrounding Hurricane Helene. 

Donations will be accepted for the Boone McCrary RN Nursing Scholarship, administered by Ballad Health. McCrary was a Walters State nursing graduate working at Ballad Health when he lost his life while attempting to rescue someone who was stranded by floodwaters. Copies of “Had I a Dove” will be available for purchase.