Proud Roads + Understory Book Bundle
Loblolly Press brings together Proud Roads by Kelly Riedesel and Understory, a full-color anthology of 90-plus artists and writers — two ways the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina gets told, in one bundle.
Inside the Full Catalog
Proud Roads: Poems in the Aftermath of Hurricane Helene$20.00
Winner of an Honorable Mention from the NC Poetry Society's Brockman-Campbell Award. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Proud Roads bears witness to the storm's ruin and the stubborn beauty of what remains — gathering the voices of Southern Appalachia and refusing to let their stories be washed away. Kelly Riedesel's debut collection.
Understory: A Full-Color Anthology for Hurricane Helene Recovery$24.00
In September 2024, Hurricane Helene tore through Western North Carolina. Understory gathers 87 writers, poets, and artists — most of them from the mountains the storm hit — into a full-color, 189-page anthology of the work made in its wake. $1 from every print copy goes to Swannanoa Communities Together, which provides housing support, food access, and case management to families still recovering in the valley.
Short story: I literally love everything about this book. Oh my gods it's great. I couldn't recommend it enough to friends and family, especially people having a lot of guilt about not physically being there when Helene hit. Every single piece in it is great and as a whole has helped rewire my brain a bit about the guilt I was having. PLEASE read this collection. It will change your life.
Long story: As someone who grew up in Asheville and the surrounding areas, but then moved away as an adult, I wasn't actually there when Helene happened. It was super scary when communications were down, not able to get in touch with my brother or dad or friends, but physically I wasn't there when the storm hit. A lot of people died or went missing, homes were destroyed, businesses that I knew and loved as a teen closed down and never opened their doors again. RAD, which I always dreamed of having a studio in one day as a kid, was entirely under water. The region will never be the same again, and I had a lot of anxiety and depression about that and guilt for not "suffering through it the same" as everyone else did.
This book solved that.
Every piece in here is beautifully written, visually stunning, emotionally evocative, and a strong reminder that Asheville is still there. Artists and writers are still in Asheville. People are healing, the community is healing. We're all hurt still, and things will never be the same as they were before, but time moves on tragedy or not and the town would have changed anyway.
Two submissions to the collection that stood out to me were Leah Lawson's "I don't want to wear my clothes anymore," and Elliot Salzberg's "Merrimon Avenue" which really encapsulated the guilt and grief I've been feeling lately, but literally every single poem, essay, and photo touched a part of my soul and I couldn't pick a favorite if I tried.
I'll definitely be going back to reread this whenever that guilt starts to build up within me again, and I'm so glad I have something I'm physically able to hold and hug and read when I need to.
Seriously, if you haven't yet, go read this book.
Thoughtful curation and design — such a beautiful view of Southern writers and artists!
A moving look at the ways Hurricane Helene impacted Western North Carolina and how communities came together to help and heal.