Colorful anthology cover for Understory by Loblolly Press, featuring artwork related to Hurricane Helene recovery.
Full-color anthology cover titled "Understory: A Full-Color Anthology for Hurricane Helene Recovery" by Loblolly Press.
Full-color anthology titled "Understory" by Loblolly Press, showcasing artwork and themes related to Hurricane Helene recovery.
Full-color anthology titled "Understory" by Loblolly Press, featuring artwork and stories related to Hurricane Helene recovery.

Understory: A Full-Color Anthology for Hurricane Helene Recovery

by Various Appalachian Writers, Poets, and Artists

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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.

 
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Understory: A Full-Color Anthology for Hurricane Helene Recovery
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Learn about the author and the book

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Western North Carolina in September 2024. Understory began weeks later as a digital anthology — a place to put what people were making while the roads were still out. The print edition gathers that work in full color: poems, prose, photographs, paintings, and drawings from 87 writers and artists, most of them living in the counties the storm hit hardest. It is a record of one season in one place, and of what people made rather than what they lost.

  • 87 contributors — emerging and established writers, poets, and artists, most rooted in Southern Appalachia.
  • Full color throughout — 189 pages, 6 x 9 inches, with artwork reproduced alongside the writing rather than collected in a separate insert.
  • $1 from every print copy goes directly to Swannanoa Communities Together, funding housing support, food access, and case management for families still recovering in the Swannanoa Valley.
  • First published as a digital anthology in November 2024; the full-color print edition followed in November 2025.

Daniel Acocella . Emilie Apel . Rachel Armes . Chris Barton . Anna Lena Phillips Bell . Rebecca Bengal . Molly Bolton . Clint Bowman . Clifford Brooks . Dustin Brookshire . Myles Brown . Ethan Chandler . Andrew K. Clark . Julie Clarke . Rebecca Clay . Drew Coles . Michael Conner . Mackenzie Crosson . Mikaela Curry . Ethan Davis . Iris Delong . Dagny Deutchman . Emily Harper Ellis . Emma Ensley . Kristin Entler . Grace Ezra . Greg Feightner . Chris Fettes . Joe Fishleigh . Daniel Fitzpatrick . Teddy L. Friedline . Kate Furlong . Katy Goforth . Hillary Gonzalez . Beth Gordon . Cole Hancock . Rachel M. Hanson . Dylan Harbison . Maggie Rue Hess . Kincaid Jenkins . Jon-Delia Freeman . Candice Kelsey . Ray Kirkman . Stan Lake . Leah Lawson . Trinity Lisk . Andrew Mack . Ariadne Alexis Macquarie . Kathleen Madden . Wendy Maldonado . Rachel Marsom . Ali McGhee . Lindsey Mercene . Tammy Mercure . Katrina Mioduszewski . Iva Moore . Rebekah Morgan . Cecilia Moushey . Hali Mullins . Hudson Myracle . Tiffany Narron . Lucille Nelson . Caroline Rayner . Emma Redditt . Jamieson Ridenhour . Kelly Riedesel . Chris Robey . Tony Robles . Maddie Rollins . Haven Ross . Ivy Rozen . Elliot Salzberg . Amelia Schroeder . Noah Soltau . Sean Theodore Stewart . McKenzie Teter . Jamie Tews . Kelley Towe . Emry Trantham . Tanya Triber . Adam Tyson . Olivia Ward . Whitney Waters . Cheryl Whitehead . Kate Wiggeringloh . Earl J. Wilcox . Kate Wright

Praise

There is something sacred about shining a light on the artists and writers whose voices are shaped by our shared soil. Loblolly Press and Understory are more than the creative expression we share with the world — they are a way to nurture what often goes unseen and ensure it has room to grow.
— Andrew Mack, Managing Editor, Loblolly Press

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M
Megan

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.

Megan review photo
T
Theodora

Thoughtful curation and design — such a beautiful view of Southern writers and artists!